The Korean Service Corps (KSC) Battalion is the largest Table of Distribution and Allowances (TDA) Battalion in the U.S. Army. It is organized into 18 Companies with 2,185 Korean paramilitary personnel geographically dispersed across South Korea. The KSC Battalion, which falls under 19th Expeditionary Sustainment Command, provides crucial logistical support to Eighth Army during armistice, and if hostilities were to break out in Korea, the unit would swell to over 23,000 personnel.
During the Korean War there were over 130,000 KSC personnel who were often called the "A-frame Army," a moniker earned because KSC personnel carried vital supplies and ammunition to front-line troops using A-frame style backpacks.
KSC Battalion members serve not just the U.S. Army, but their fellow countryman as well. This was evidenced on October 8, 2019 when members of the KSC rescued a local driver who was trapped in an overturned bus.
Mr. Yi, Chong Hyong and Mr. Song, Tae Hyon, both KSC members of the 12th KSC Co., were driving toward a bridge near Hamaru Village in the city of Paju near the Demilitarized Zone when they saw a city shuttle bus overturned about five meters down an embankment.
Yi parked his vehicle on the side road and immediately called 119 (the South Korean version of 911) for help. The bus driver was the vehicle's sole occupant and was severely injured. Yi, a first-aid instructor, immediately provided medical aid. The driver was extra lucky that day as both Mr. Yi and Mr. Song, work as KSC Battalion first-aid instructors.
"Fortunately there were no other passengers other than the driver. It wasn't a big thing, but I feel pleased and blessed we had a chance to help someone at the right time," said Mr. Yi.
Yi and Song attribute their ability to properly administer aid to the training they received from the U.S. Army's Combat Life Saver and Field First Aid classes during Army Warrior Training (AWT) that all KSC's receive. They claim that this training was crucial to being able to administer proper emergency medical aid to the injured driver in a timely manner.
These paramilitary troops stayed true to the KSC motto of "Service First!"
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