UDT/SEAL unit members go through harsh training


Despite the face-numbing weather, the Navy’s elite special warfare troops, clad in black diving suits, hurled themselves into the frigid waters after jumping out of their rubber boats Tuesday.

The group of the naval troops, dubbed UDT/SEAL, was engaging in their three-week combat training session, which began off the coast of Jinhae in Changwon City on Monday. UDT stands for Underwater Demolition Team while SEAL represents sea, air and land.

Their morale was apparently higher than ever after their comrades successfully conducted the military operation in the Indian Ocean, rescuing all 21 crew members of a South Korean freighter that was held by Somali pirates.

“This exercise is designed to enable the troops here to learn actual combat techniques that would help them win in a war. Through the exercise, they will improve their mental strength and gain capabilities to fulfill their given missions 100 percent under any circumstances,” Cdr. Do Jin-hak said. 

The training course includes a deep-water dive, nighttime and daytime maritime infiltrations and anti-terrorism drills. It also includes climbing a rocky mountain, disposing of explosives, striking imaginary targets and engaging in tactical maneuvers.

For the exercise, a series of maritime military equipment including rubber boats, submarines and Seal Delivery Vehicles are being mobilized.

Becoming a member of the elite group is a truly grueling process.

The aspiring UDT members should endure the “hellish week” during which they engage in a grueling exercise without sleeping for 138 hours. During the week, they climb a mountain with a rubber boat on their shoulders during the daytime and engage in maritime maneuvers at night.

They must also go through a “survival week” during which they are left on a deserted island with no food for one week.

The elite troops gained much attention after they engaged in the operation to rescue the sailors of the 1,200-ton corvette Cheonan, which sank in the West Sea after a North Korean torpedo attack last March. During the operation, Han Joo-ho, a 53-year-old veteran UDT staffer, died. He has now become a hero among the UDT/SEAL members.

Friday’s rescue operation in the Indian Ocean once again brought them into the limelight. The operation that killed eight pirates and captured five others was a crucial milestone for the South Korean military, which was struggling to shore up public trust following its “inadequate” responses to the two North Korean attacks last year.

The elite group of special naval troops was established in June 1954.

Since its inception, the group has evolved into one of the country’s most formidable forces after it undertook a mission to dispose of explosives in 1968, a SEAL mission to strike targets at sea, in the air and on land in 1976 and an anti-terrorism mission in 1993.

By Song Sang-ho (sshluck@heraldcorp.com)