In Korea, Soldiers are assigned for a one year tour, making an assignment there more like a deployment, which causes the Eighth U.S. Army to face a turnover of 600 to 700 Warfighters every month. These turnovers often cause a shortage of personnel in critical military occupational specialties and creates the need to train incoming personnel to ensure a balanced set of skills on the ground.
Refresher training is in constant demand for increasingly complex C4ISR systems. Additionally, unit personnel need sustainment training to prepare for two major theater level exercises, multiple battalion, brigade, and division level exercises every year. As a result of these challeges, the Korea Theater of Operations is in a never-ending training mode to ensure that warfighters are ready "To Fight the Fight Tonight."
"You have really opened my eyes! I had no idea how many systems sec is involved with -- how much you do here. This is a capability we need in Korea," said Republic of Korea Brig. Gen. Shin, chief of Computer Systems ROK Headquarters G6.
To deal with these challenges, CECOM SEC's leading "face to the field" is the C4ISR Support Manager, Sok Kim. Kim has been a familiar welcoming face in support of both new arrivals and VIP visitors to Korea for many years, ensuring that our Soldiers'
critical support needs are expeditiously met. The U.S. Army Communications-Electronics Command Software Engineering
Center's field software engineers in Korea work alongside logistics assistance representatives from the CECOM Logistics and Readiness Center to support the warfighter on the ground by providing refresher training and over-the-shoulder training on C4ISR systems. Kim ensures SEC supported systems are ready to fight tonight by loading the latest software updates and security releases, configuring the baselines and loading maps and datasets, testing network connectivity and communications, and ensuring soldiers are aware of the latest capabilities and how those capabilities support their mission.
Given the high rate of turnover, one of the challenges facing new arrivals is learning about and taking advantage of
the opportunities Team C4ISR makes available in theater. To address this challenge, Kim and his team work with the
Armed Forces Network to produce news stories highlighting the SEC's Mission Command Training Center and the C4ISR
Integrated Training Environment -- Cel, CITE-C, Facility. These stories, along with a radio interview and TV blue board
training schedule posting, maximize Soldier awareness of training opportunities.
The CITE-C is also on the leading edge addressing U.S. Forces Korea and the Republic of Korea interoperability. Kim and
his team are working with the USFK Science advisor and CERDEC engineers to assist in capturing the requirements for USFK/
ROK interoperability, synchronizing efforts for procurement of commercial off the shelf equipment between 8th Army and CERDEC and laying the groundwork for a possible joint emerging operational needs statements. With the continuous changes and challenges in the Korean area of operations, Kim's experience, knowledge and stability as CECOM's face to the field is a welcome sight for both newcomers and those returning to theater.
Kim is USFK's Critical Link.
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