Shin Hyun-joon
On April 15, 1949, the Republic of Korea Marine Corps (ROKMC) was founded at Deoksan airfield in Jinhae with an initial strength of 380 men. Lieutenant Colonel Shin Hyun-joon was appointed to lead as the first Commandant of the newly formed Marine Corps and he was promoted to colonel on July 1, 1949. The ROKMC consisted of 2 rifle companies and a headquarters company equipped with many secondhand weapons from the Imperial Japanese Army (IJA) used during World War II, including the 7.7 mm Type 99 Light Machine Gun. It was soon reorganized into an infantry battalion with three rifle companies. Initially no United States Marine Corps (USMC) or United States Army advisers were attached to the unit and its doctrine and training was based on that of the IJA.