Introduction
A place soldiers in the 2nd Infantry Division become very familiar with during a tour in Korea is the Korea Training Center (KTC). The KTC is where gunneries for Bradley and tank crews is often held along with live fire exercises for both aerial and rotary wing platforms.
Helicopters parked at the Korea Training Center.
The KTC has additional ranges and land for just about any other type of training exercise needed for Second Infantry Division units. The range is located about 16 kilometers northeast of the Second Infantry Division installation of Camp Casey as the crow flies, but due to the rugged terrain the drive to the KTC takes about an hour to complete from the camp by a military vehicle:
The KTC is bordered by the small farming community of Yeongpyeong-ri which is considered part of the larger Pocheon city municipality:
Driving through Yeongpyeong-ri no one would have any idea that in the valley just to north of town is Korea’s premier range training complex if it wasn’t for the one sign indicating which direction to turn to reach the range. The small village is totally unlike other villages and cities bordering US military installations because there are no clubs and absolutely no signs of a US military presence in the area due to regulations restricting soldiers from leaving the range complex.
Local Concerns
However, just like we have seen with other USFK range locations, the local residents are demanding compensation for having to live next to the range:
Pocheon city officials are asking the South Korean government for millions of dollars worth of funding to make up for the continued presence of U.S. Forces Korea’s largest live-fire range.
Although USFK plans to relocate its northernmost bases south of Seoul by 2012, it will continue to use the 22 ranges within the Rodriguez Range complex in Pocheon.
Kim Hong-jin, chief of Pocheon’s Policy Development Division, said that local residents put up with noise, property damage and disruptions to daily life that call for governmental compensation. [Stars & Stripes]
As of 2008 no agreement has been reached on paying any compensation to residents living near the range complex. (Update: As of 2016 still no agreement has been reached.) I have always found it interesting how it seems that residents only complain about USFK tanks, bombs, and airplanes making noise while the Korean military’s noise does not draw the same complaints.
(Update: Misfired TOW Missile Strikes Building Outside of Rodriguez Range Limits)
Rodriguez Range
For troops stationed in the 2nd Infantry Division the noise at the Korea Training Center means they are receiving the best live fire training available in South Korea:
Tanks doing gunnery at the KTC. Image via VOA News.
The multipurpose range complex (MPRC) at the KTC is primarily used to support Abrams and Bradley gunnery exercises on the main Rodriguez Range (Called Rod Range for short by GIs) as well as on the adjacent Warrior Valley range. The range is a bit unusual to most gunnery ranges in the United States because units literally fire into the side of a mountain:
On the other side of the mountain there are actually a number of South Korean villages:
With the threat of civilian damage maintaining range fans is extremely important when firing at the KTC compared to firing at ranges located in the United States. Watching night fires at the range can be extremely impressive when viewing ricochets hit off the side of the mountain and put on a mini fireworks show.
The US armored crews are not the only ones that use the range, the Republic of Korea (ROK) Army units use the range as well:
US and ROK soldiers train together at the KTC. Image via Army.mil.
Having fired Bradley Table VIII gunnery on Rodriguez Range more times then I can remember, I have found it to be one of the most difficult ranges to fire on during the summer months because of vegetation and that obscures the green pop up targets. Guys that fire well on Rod Range earn it. However, I have also fired on the Warrior Valley range and have found that one to be quite an easy range to fire on thus causing most units to want their crews to fire on Rodriguez Range if possible to get the maximum training value out of the gunnery exercise.
Other Training Ranges
The KTC is also able to support Artillery, Mortar, Close Air Support, and Apache gunneries as well. The range is also used for aerial gunnery from Blackhawk and Chinook helicopters. The range is also being increasingly used by Stryker units that have been rotating to the peninsula in recent years for training. The KTC also has a number of small arms and grenade ranges as well for soldiers to train on. The range is also being increasingly used for convoy live fires by logistical units as well:
Finally the range has been upgraded to include an Military Operations on Urban Terrain (MOUT) range. This new range was recently used by the US Marines who deployed to South Korea during the recent Key Resolve exercise to teach and train with the Korean military in urban warfare tactics:
Support Facilities
Something soldiers stationed in Korea appreciate about the KTC is that the range has a small support area with open bay barracks, showers, a KATUSA snack bar, and even a small pizza shack.
However, for those of us who have under gone Bradley Table VIII gunnery at Rodriguez Range there is little time to enjoy these facilities because firers spend the vast majority of their time out on the range mostly waiting in line to fire and simply sleep in their vehicles. However, the soldiers out there to support the gunnery live quite well in one of the best support facilities I have seen at a US gunnery range.
Conclusion
Overall the Korea Training Center is a good facility to keep USFK soldiers properly trained and certified on their respective weapon systems. The range continues to improve with more technological updates and innovations being installed at the range. There is probably not a more important training area for USFK in all of Korea then the KTC. This means that the Korea Training Center will continue to play a major role in the training of USFK forces now and well into the future.
Note: You can read more from the ROK Drop featured series “A Profile of USFK Bases” at the below link:
Comments:
Small update… there is no longer a small pizza shack, as well as a Shopette trailer. Right next to the haircut place, they now have a somewhat bigger shopetter and an american snack bar that serves anthony’s pizza as well. Hell they even now have an internet cafe in there. And as a bonus for shits and giggles they have an ajosshi with a table right outside selling his little wares and every now and then the brand new car salesman are there with a car on display.
Dont know about how well the support facilities compare to others as I havent been to JRTC and NTC in awhile, but YTC (Yakima Training Center near FT Lewis) has pretty good facilities.
Thanks for the update. It appears the support facilities at KTC continue to improve.
Last time I was at NTC just the big shoppette behind where units put their tents up was allowed to be used by trainees. YTC has the small camp area but when I did gunnery there we were not allowed to use it. We stayed out in the field in tents the whole time and fired gunnery and went back to Lewis.
[…] in South Korea were messages to his comrades on top secret military targets. Sometimes he was just too blatant about it. His little “Korea Finder” games he played where readers had to guess the […]
I was stationed in this area on 2 of my tours. I spent several months just north of this at Camp Kaiser, nex to Uncheon City. Back in 1960 it was called Unchon-ni. I drove a truck, and used the back road that went just to the west of Rod Range, up through what was called Greek Valley, then into the rear gate of Cp Kaiser.
The other place was at Camp St Barbara, which was just about 2 miles west of Rod Range, where old highway 37 crossed the Hantan river. There is a air strip there that is still used by some of the aviation units while at Rod. It is R228 or G228.
If any of you guys use 228, please get some pictures. I was there in 1970.
The village there is Baekui-ri. Had some GREAT Times there.
[…] http://www.qsl.net/wd4ngb/ckaiser.htm • Found on Google, Windows Live, Yahoo! Search, Ask.com A Profile of the Korea Training Center Pocheon city officials are asking the South Korean government for …. I spent several months just […]
[…] urban warfare facility at Rodriguez Range has really come along over the last few years to provide some great training for 2ID […]
I was at K-2, Taegu, June 1952 to May 1953. I am looking for the site of the Naktong Gunnery Range so I can post a brass plaque in commemoration of the site. It was on the Naktong River 5 hours in a 6by or 83 miles along the river to the North. No one living today seems to know where it was including 3 who were there. If you know please contact me at 44-208 Malae Place, Kaneohe, Hawaii 808 254-1221. I will give you photos. I have returned to Korea 4 times, 5th at the end of August 2010 on a revisit program sponsered by the Korean Government. I wish to return to the site and leave a commemoration plaque. Please help if you know. aloha, Harry
Bruce,
Here’s a google map shot of Baekui-ri today. If you zoom in you can see the airstrip you spoke of just north of Highway 37. Doesn’t seem like much is happening there that would qualify as GREAT Times. Would love to hear your war stories from back in the day! My first tour there was in 90 and my last in 2011. Trying to get hired as a contractor up at KTC and if I do, I’ll get you some street shots of Baekui-ri when i do.
Matt
Harry,
If you’d like, shoot me any info (local landmarks, etc.) you have near the Naktong Gunnery Range and I’ll do what I can to help. Is it up by Andong? If so, it’s likely a ROKAF range now or overgrown, but I’ve lived in Daegu on and off for six years (my dad was stationed at K2 for a year in 69) and I also do alot of hiking. Wish me luck!
Matt
Matt,
Between some of the readers here, and GI Korea, I have added some recent photos of the southern part of Camp St Barbara and Baekui-ri (called Peggy Lee back in the day). It was a small village, but had at least 8 clubs back in the 60s and early 70s when the camp was occupied full time by US troops.
Here is the most recent photos:
http://www.qsl.net/wd4ngb/stb-now-2.htm
Bruce,
Looking at those pictures gives a great idea of what St. Barbara was like (I’m assuming the camp is now the ROK military camp that abuts the airfield)? The range facilities look like they’re kept up (I noticed range towers near some of them), but I’ll bet most units just roll down to Rod Range to shoot small arms vs. trying to coordinate with the ROKs. Cool! My offer is still on for the street shots if I get that job!
Matt
Matt,
Would love to see anything you can get from the area. The big thing about Cp St Barbara was the 8 inch and 175 mm Arty units that were there, a Battalion of each, plus the St Barbara Artillery Range that was at the north end of the camp. All the 1st Cav, 7th Inf, and 2nd Inf div, and I Corp Artillery units did all there firing there.
The small village was like a large Recreation Center, since the locals treated the GIs very well. I had 4 tours in Korea, and the time at St Barbara was the best of them. I walked the road from there, up past Rod Range, on the back road to Uncheon, called Unchon-ni back then. Nice scenery
i spent three or four days out at G228 in early 2009 for crew drills. it was pretty overgrown at the time. google maps shows some development on the parking apron and nearby that wasn’t there four years ago. sorry no landmark photos, but we took a group picture.
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=73457341678
http://goo.gl/maps/Gc4o9
Wow, this brought back a few memories! I was there serving as Apache Troop 1SG Dec 96-Dec 97. Not sure if this is the right forum for a question, however here goes. I Squadron photo was taken at the Korean Training Center during one of our Gunneries. I believe it was mid summer / early fall and was shot between the snack bar and ready line. The photo included the 4/7 Command Group standing in frount of and on top of an M1A1. I would love to have a copy for my collection. I PCSed before I could get a copy. Thanks for listening and loved the site. ‘GARRY OWEN’
