A ROK Type 88 K1 Main Battle Tank drives off a U.S. Navy Landing Craft, Air Cushion during a mock amphibious attack on Pohang Beach. Photo by SSgt. D. Myles Cullen, USAF

A ROK H-60 helicopter lands on the flight deck of the USS Essex (LHD 2) during deck-landing qualifications. Photo by PH(AN) Marvin E. Thompson Jr., USN

A U.S. Army M1A2 Main Battle Tank drives through a muddy ditch as it heads into position during a force-on-force rehearsal at Twin Bridges Training Area. Photo by SSgt. Keith D. McGrew, USA

Maritime Training

ROK and U.S. sailors and Marines ended RSOI/FOAL EAGLE 2004 with a maritime training exercise that involved a multi-ship combined Amphibious Ready Group. ROK and U.S. sailors and Marines worked together to ensure peak readiness through a wide range of amphibious operations, including deck-landing qualifications, supporting fires, and communications drills.

Participating ROK ships were ROKS Su Yong (LST 677), ROKS Seongin Bong (LST 685), ROKS Kojoon Bong (LST 681), and the ROKS Hyangro Bong (LST 683). U.S. Navy ships were part of the USS Essex (LHD-2) Amphibious Ready Group that included USS Fort McHenry (LSD 43), USS Juneau (LPD 10), USS Vincennes (CG 59), and USS Curtis Wilbur (DDG 54).

ROK pilots performed deck-landing qualification flights on the deck of the USS Essex, said U.S. Navy Cmdr. P.J. Perrault. He added, “Anytime you can learn from working with another country, it’s a huge success. We all exchanged ideas and knowledge of each other’s equipment and maintenance standards to improve our joint interoperability.”

The exercise also offered the ROK and U.S. forces an opportunity to practice with each other through supporting fires and communications drills.

“We coordinated and maneuvered U.S. small craft from the Essex that were on the ROK ships, and the ROK Navy did the same with their craft on our ships,” said U.S. Navy Lt. Ty Bruce. “Communicating through the language barriers and ensuring we are all on the same frequency made this a huge success.”

“We gained experience embarking on the U.S. ships with our Marines and equipment,” said an embarked ROK liaison officer. “In the future, we have a better understanding of each other, which will make it easier if a conflict should happen.” Echoing the ROK officer’s comments, Cmdr. Perrault noted, “Coming away with these experiences gives U.S. service members and ROK service members a better understanding of each other’s operations. It is a mutual learning experience.”

U.S. Navy Capt. Richard B. Landolt, Commander, Amphibious Squadron 11, described the maritime portion of the exercise as a great success. “Exercises like FOAL EAGLE build relationships and demonstrate the combat readiness of our combined forces. Our respective navies have different ways of doing business, and it’s important to remain up to date on our respective standard operating procedures, as well as to get to personally know the leadership,” he said. “We have to continuously brush up and hone . . . our combined skills to ensure our perishable assets, communication in particular, remain fresh.”

U.S. Army engineers use MK-2 boats to position and connect an improvised ribbon bridge system on the Imjin River, near Camp Casey, ROK. The bridge allows combined military forces to cross and clear the river while moving to their next objective. Photo by Spec. Eric E. Hughes, USA