How Safe Are Our Troops Deployed 1,200km from Iran [Yang Nakkyu's Defence Club]

971 Personnel Deployed Across Four Overseas Units Including Hanbit Unit

Minister Ahn Gyu-baek in Video Conference: "No Damages Reported So Far"

As the situation in Iran continues to escalate, there is growing concern over the safety of South Korea's overseas military units. The security posture for these overseas deployment units was strengthened as of February 28, and it is currently understood that there have been no casualties or damages to any of the deployed units.

Four overseas deployment units, including the Lebanon Dongmyeong Unit, are currently carrying out missions with a total of 971 personnel.

According to the Ministry of National Defense on March 3, Minister of National Defense Ahn Gyu-baek presided over a situation assessment meeting the previous day to review the current situation in the Middle East in light of developments in Iran. He checked key military preparedness measures and instructed that, in the event of requests for support during the evacuation of Korean nationals, military assets should be deployed immediately. Minister Ahn also chaired a situation assessment meeting on the current Middle East situation at the Joint Chiefs of Staff Operations Command Center that day. The commanders of the Dongmyeong Unit, Cheonghae Unit, Akh Unit, and Hanbit Unit also participated via video conference.

The current overseas deployment units consist of the 31st Dongmyeong Unit in Lebanon (277 personnel), the 46th Cheonghae Unit in the waters off Somalia (266 personnel), the 24th Akh Unit in the UAE (145 personnel), and the 20th Hanbit Unit in South Sudan (283 personnel). In addition, 36 personnel are individually dispatched to 12 countries, including South Sudan, India, Kuwait, Iraq, and Bahrain.

Last year, the Joint Chiefs of Staff assessed the risk levels of each overseas deployment unit, based on criteria such as the degree of conflict, public security, hostile force activity, and threat factors. The areas were classified into four levels: high-risk area (level 4), semi-high-risk area (level 3), rear area (level 2), and non-combat zone (level 1). The Akh Unit, located 1,200 km from Iran, was designated level 1; the Cheonghae Unit, 2,000 km away, was level 2; and the Dongmyeong Unit, 1,400 km away, and the Hanbit Unit, 2,900 km away, were both classified as level 3.

Minister Ahn emphasized, "While giving top priority to the safety of our personnel on the ground, please minimize outside activities and ensure that military readiness is fully maintained within the bases so that our forces can respond immediately to any situation." He further stated, "Preparedness that is not supported by accurate situation assessment and meticulous analysis is nothing but a house built on sand. Maintain a 24-hour crisis response system and be thoroughly prepared so that, upon request for support during the evacuation of Korean nationals, military assets can be immediately deployed and missions can be faithfully accomplished."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.