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U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Kolton Allen, left, and Republic of Korea KATUSA Pfc. Seung Jin Park, right, from 6th Battalion, 37th Field Artillery Regiment, conduct maintenance with M4A1 Carbines during the Camp Casey Ammunition Combat Loading Exercise (ACL LOADEX) at Camp Casey, Republic of Korea, Nov. 21, 2024. The exercise tested the battalion’s ability to rapidly mobilize and deploy, ensuring operational readiness and reinforcing mission-critical skills. (U.S. Army photo by Pfc. Fabian Jones)
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U.S. Army KATUSA Pvt. Seok Jeong (left) and Staff Sgt. David Poppick (right), assigned to Water Platoon, Alpha Company, 194th Division Sustainment Support Battalion, 2nd Infantry Division, test a water sample to determine if its safe for drinking during water purification operations as part of Freedom Shield 25 at DAGMAR North Live Fire Complex, Paju-si, Gyeonggi-do, Republic of Korea, March 15, 2025. Freedom Shield 25 is a multi-domain, military training exercise integrating ground, air, naval, space, and cyberspace elements to enhance readiness through realistic combat scenarios. (U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Neil McLean)
(Photo Credit: Staff Sgt. Cornelius McLean)VIEW ORIGINAL3 / 6Show Caption +Hide Caption –
Korean Augmentation to the United States Army (KATUSA) Sgt. Sang Kyeong Park (center) with Eighth Army Headquarters and Headquarters Battalion, conducts a pacific victors run in the morning of August 8, 2025, at Camp Humphreys, South Korea. The run is part of Pacific Victors Readiness Day, which occurs across all Eighth Army units once a month and helps to foster pride and esprit de corps within the unit. (U.S. Army photo by KCpl. Hyung Ju Lee)
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Army Sgt. Imon Sikes, a Army Radar Data Processing Equipment Repairman (25H), assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Battalion, 2nd Infantry Division, alongside Pfc. Geon Hee, a KATUSA assigned to assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Battalion, 2nd Infantry Division orientate a COVN-K (Combined Operational VSAT Network - Korea) satellite system during a Battle Command Training Program training exercise on December 6, 2022 at Camp Casey, South Korea. BCTP provides command and battle staff training for brigade, division and corps commanders and their staff. (photo by Army Sgt. Jerod Hathaway)
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U.S. Army Sgt. Remi Torres, assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Company, U.S. Army Garrison Yongsan-Casey, helps Korean Augmentation to the U.S. Army Pfc. Hyun Jae Chung don his promask before a gas chamber drill at North Star Range, Uijeongbu, South Korea, March 5, 2025. The drill reinforced the importance of situational awareness and adaptability in chemical attack scenarios. (DoD photo by Pfc. See Woo Lee, KATUSA)
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Logo for KATUSA Friendship Week being celebrated June 9-13, 2025 across Army garrisons in South Korea. Eighth Army is celebrating 75 years of the Korean Augmentation to the US Army program with sports and cultural events.
(Photo Credit: Sgt. Steven Sheldon)VIEW ORIGINAL
August 15 is recognized as the birthday of the Korean Augmentation to the United States Army Soldier program, or KATUSA. The program was created only weeks after the Korean War ignited, and to this day KATUSAs continue to serve side-by-side with Eighth Army Soldiers providing priceless support and friendship.
The Korean War began June 25, 1950. Roughly three weeks later the KATUSA program was initiated July 15 by an informal agreement between the Honorable Syngman Rhee, president of the Republic of Korea, and General of the Army Douglas MacArthur, commander in chief, United Nations Command.
During the first two months of the war, the Republic of Korea Army had been destroyed as a fighting force and the U.S. Army was significantly understrength and had been “compressed” into the Pusan perimeter by North Korean forces, as described in an official Army report. Replacements and fighting men were in desperate need.
Sang Bin Lim served as a Korean Augmentation To the U.S. Army (KATUSA) on Camp Casey from 1987 to 1989 with 2nd Infantry Division. He was a Tank Crewman and Gunner with 1st Brigade, 72nd Tank Battalion, 1st Company. Lim later went on to serve as a Senior KATUSA and earned an Army Commendation Medal for his service. (Courtesy photo provided by Sang Bin Lim)
(Photo Credit: Courtesy)VIEW ORIGINAL
The concept of the KATUSA program was to augment the U.S. forces. In the beginning most KATUSAs were recruited directly off the streets of Pusan, now spelled Busan. After a basic training period, KATUSA Soldiers were sent to combat units serving as infantrymen. The first KATUSAs reached U.S. Army units by mid-August 1950. They were issued U.S. supplies, but were paid by and remained administered under the Republic of Korea Army. Throughout the Korean War, up to a maximum of 23,000 KATUSAs served at any one time, according to the Army.
After the 1953 armistice, KATUSA Soldiers remained with U.S. Army units to receive training not readily available in the ROKA and to enhance U.S. Army in Korea's mission capability.
Since 1950, the KATUSA Soldier Program has been ongoing with only periodic strength adjustments dictated by requirements. Originally, KATUSA Soldiers were returned to the ROKA after serving with the U.S. Army. Since 1968, however, KATUSA Soldiers remain with Eighth Army until their service commitments are completed.
Korea Augumentation to the United States (KATUSAs) carry M4's at Apache Range during qualification training at Camp Casey, South Korea, Oct. 17, 2024. Qualifying with the M4 built confidence, improved marksmanship skills, and ultimately enhanced a Soldier’s ability to perform their mission successfully not only limited to U.S. personnel but as well their Korean counterparts. (U.S. Army photo by Spc. Philemon Tan)
(Photo Credit: Spc. Philemon Tan)VIEW ORIGINAL
The ROKA Support Group was established May 11, 1965 at the request of the Eighth Army commander to administer the KATUSA Soldier program.
Today, young South Korean men planning to conduct their mandatory military service obligation can apply to become a KATUSA if they have a command of the English language and if positions are available.
Eighth Army has stated the KATUSA program increases the ROK-U.S. combined defense capability on the Korean peninsula. The program is also significant not only because of the military manpower and monetary savings that it provides to the U.S. Army, but also because it puts a face on the ironclad ROK-U.S. alliance and the combined commitment to deter war.
The KATUSA program is the very essence of one of Eighth Army’s favorite phrases, “katchi kapshida,” — “we go together.”
Information for this article provided by Eighth Army and these sources:
“Integration of ROK Soldiers into US Army Units (KATUSA)” (U.S. Army)
“The KATUSA Experiment” by David Curtis Skaggs (excerpt)
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