CAMP CASEY, Korea -- Soldiers from 4th Chemical Co., 1st Brigade Special Troops Battalion and Republic of Korea's 16th Chemical Battalion, 6th Corp. conducted a joint training exercise geared towards showcasing each other's techniques when it comes to a chemical attack June 2 at Camp Casey.
The event consisted of Soldiers from both sides responding to a chemical attack where each company utilized their own specific decontamination procedure to ensure the safety of both personnel and vehicles.
"Today's training was to have the R.O.Ks and U.S. conduct a joint exercise where we can share decon techniques used by the two different armies," said 2nd Lt. Chris Kim, a decon platoon leader for 4th Chemical Co., 1BSTB.
Throughout the event, Soldiers and leaders from both sides were able to observe various new techniques and discuss standard operating procedures in order to enhance their own war fighting capabilities against a chemical threat.
"The training allowed both the leadership and Soldiers to view different ideas and procedures, so that we could all learn and adapt from them," Kim said.
Some of these lessons made lasting impressions as both sides have already discussed how to implement each others methods into existing tactics before the day was finished.
"Our leadership has already stated that there are many ideas that we can incorporate into our own S.O.Ps which would make us faster and more efficient," said Kim.
During the training, Soldiers from both sides not only learned different military procedures, but were able to interact with their counterparts and find out more about them.
"I learned that the R.O.K.s are very precise about their lines," said Pfc. Lynn Hopkins, a chemical operations specialist for 4th Chemical Co., 1BSTB. "But I've also learned that they are extremely nice and were very helpful during the exercise."
Events like these help Soldiers to create bonds with their comrades in arms, regardless of where they serve, and create bonds that could stand the test of war.
"This is the first time since I've been here that we did this and it was a good experience," Hopkins said. "I hope that we can do more training like this in the future because I learned a lot from this."
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