In early March 2016, North Korean intelligence
personnel were bewildered by a peculiar event taking place on Pohang's coasts.
More than 9,000 American and 4,500 South Korean Marines were
pouring into the beaches as part of a joint exercise called Twin Dragons.
Although they were notified in advance, the North Koreans were still astonished by the readiness
of their counterparts and, more importantly, the size of the operation, which involved 19 warships.
Impressive and detailed footage taken by the Allied forces showed the Marines
landing and securing beacheads, armored vehicles advancing straight into towns,
and aircraft flying above providing air support.
In truth, the biennial exercise aimed to strengthen joint operations between nations
while performing a wide range of activities, from disaster relief to more complex and swift
actions against hostile forces. And that included the neighboring Communist country…
Pacific Nuclear Threats
A tense environment between North Korea, South Korea, and the United States has been common going
back to the end of the Korean War in 1953. A peace treaty was never signed, with only the Armistice
Agreement covering for it. Since then, military tensions at the 38th Parallel have never ceased.
In 2009 and 2010, the United States, South Korea,
and their allies conducted the joint military drills Foal Eagle and Key Resolve
as part of a United Nations Security Council sanction against North Korea.
The Hermit Kingdom had conducted long-range missile tests during that year, and South Korea
and its allies announced they would respond. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un then proclaimed that his
nuclear arsenal was ready to destroy his South Korean peers and anybody else in the region.
Foal Eagle and Key Resolve were part of Operation Plan 5015, aimed at deterring North
Korea’s use of weapons of mass destruction with a decisive preemptive attack on North
Korean military and weapons facilities. Tensions rose again in early 2016 when
leader Kim Jong Un announced once again that his nuclear arsenal was ready to attack any enemy.
The US armed forces and the Republic of Korea or ROK then responded by divulging
that they were getting ready for their joint military exercise Ssang Yong, or Twin Dragon.
Exercise Twin Dragons Exercise Ssang Yong or Twin
Dragons is a biennial exercise hosted by the Republic of Korea to strengthen
interoperability and working relationships with partner nations, especially the United States.
Operation Twin Dragons 2016, scheduled to last from March 8 to 18, would involve personnel
from the US Navy and Marine Corps, the South Korean Navy and Marines, as well as military
personnel from Australia and New Zealand. Rear Admiral John Nowell, commander of
Expeditionary Strike Group 7, said: (QUOTE) "Ssang Yong offers the US and ROK the opportunity to
test their ability to operate together as an integrated combined naval force.
Its significance in assuring interoperability between the US and ROK forces is inestimable."
According to information shared by the Marine Corps, over 9,200 US Marines, 3,100 sailors,
4,500 ROK Marines, 3,000 ROK Navy members, 60 Royal New Zealand soldiers, and 100
Australian military personnel would participate. Captain Ed Thompson, commander of Amphibious
Squadron 11, expressed to the Marines Media that: (QUOTE) “The sheer number of personnel involved
is extremely impressive. There are a lot of moving parts and things that need to align
for a successful exercise. When they do, it is truly amazing to see how we operate together.”
Official media sources from the US and ROK claimed that Ssang Yong 2016 would
focus on conducting amphibious operations for wartime missions and disaster relief efforts.
The US Marines also expressed that troops from both countries would conduct flight operations,
personnel exchange, and cross-platform exercises to ensure that contingents from either military
could appropriately react to threats on the peninsula and the entire Asia-Pacific region.
Joint-Amphibious Operations
Twin Dragons 2016 was unique in that it focused on the aggregating of forces
for an exercise of Marine Expeditionary Brigade level forcible entry operations.
Petty Officer First Class Matthew Jackson from the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit wrote that: (QUOTE)
“ESG 7 and the 3rd Marine Expeditionary Brigade will aggregate elements of the Boxer ARG,
Bonhomme Richard ARG, 13th MEU, 31st MEU, and the Maritime Prepositioning Forces with ROK
Navy and ROK Marine Corps Marine Task Force to practice full-spectrum amphibious operations.”
These units were tasked with conducting a
simulated amphibious assault along the coasts of Pohang.
Once at the beach, the Marines from both countries would penetrate and eliminate hostile beach
defenses to establish a beachhead. This operation would rapidly transition into a full spectrum,
combined arms forcible entry operation. Captain Keith Moore, commander of Amphibious
Squadron One, expressed that he was confident the exercise would be completed successfully:
(QUOTE) “I have absolute confidence. I know that we are ready. We have executed all of
the missions that are going to be put against us. We’ve executed them with precision, skill,
gusto, and with a war-fighting fervor that I know we will take forward when we get tasked.”
Still, in typical North Korean fashion,
Kim went to the media and expressed that the US Marines were getting ready for an invasion.
Bruce Klingner, a Korea expert at the Heritage Foundation think tank in Washington, explained
that: (QUOTE) “The North Koreans are particularly wary at seeing Marines on the Korean peninsula.
In September 1950, Marines and soldiers launched an amphibious landing at Inchon that stopped the
North Korean advance south and led to UN forces crossing the 38th parallel into North Korea.”
In other words, the Marines' reputation preceded them,
and North Korea knew they were a force to be reckoned with.
Klingner added: (QUOTE) "They know the history of the Marine Corps, so they would see a
large presence of Marines on the peninsula as possibly a prelude to an attack or an invasion,
especially when it's coupled with the presence of B-52s and nuke-capable submarines."
Ready for an Invasion Ssang Yong
16 began with a combined amphibious assault with 19 ships from the 31st
and 13th Marine Expeditionary Units and the ROK Marine Corps Marine Task Force.
The US Marines were almost battle-ready when they heard
the phrase “Attention landing force, standby for call away.”
They then grabbed their packs, rifles, and other essential gear and made their way through the
cramped decks. Moments later, the Marines were aboard AAV-P7/A1 Amphibious Assault Vehicles,
helicopters, and hovercraft to attack the beaches of South Korea.
Footage from the first day of action captured dozens of amphibious vehicles and aircraft
assaulting shores to secure a beachhead. As the men headed to specific zones,
more Marines were brought ashore aboard amphibious vehicles and air-cushioned hovercraft.
In a matter of minutes, the 19 warships supporting the operation delivered most of the landing force,
while at the same time, several aircraft safeguarded the area from above the skies.
Following the initial assaults, the US and ROK Marines began conducting urban warfare training,
artillery fire operations, mortar shoots, and other joint exercises.
CH-53E Super Stallions packed Marines from the Ghost Company
of the 1st Marine Regiment and delivered them quietly over the cold hills of South
Korea to practice operations behind enemy lines.
Other units, such as the 1st Combat Engineer Battalion, hastily built bunkers, while several
Marines practiced action drills for a possible tactical withdrawal from the combat zone.
Freedom Given the enormous scope
of Twin Dragons 2016, the logistical support was brought together by Exercise Freedom Banner 16.
Marine Colonel Romin Dasmalchi explained that: (QUOTE) “Freedom banner set the
conditions for the combined amphibious assault that formed the cornerstone of Ssang Yong 16.
Freedom Banner’s purpose was to practice using naval and amphibious
assets to support forces ashore. The amphibious operations conducted during
Ssang Yong were the next operational step to Freedom Banner’s sea basing operations.”
The last exercises involved delivering M1A1 Abrams tanks from Marine Delta Company 1st Tank
Battalion and the 6th Royal Australian Regiment. But the highlight of the sea operations involved
a Fueling at Sea between amphibious assault ship USS Bonhomme Richard and guided-missile cruiser
USS Shiloh, during which USS Bonhomme transferred nearly 10,000 gallons of fuel to the cruiser.
Several videos recorded during those days proved the readiness of the US sailors to
quickly deliver fuel to another friendly vessel while under stress in a possible combat scenario.
Given the tremendous success of the joint exercise between the armed forces of the US,
South Korea and their partners, a new event was scheduled for April of 2018 to carry
out Foal Eagle and Key Resolve exercises. The drills were expected to last four weeks
while President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un held their historic meeting.
However, despite notifying North Korea about the drills, tensions quickly escalated and
the event was postponed to give priority to diplomatic ties between the North and the South.
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