{"id":337,"date":"2023-06-15T00:24:26","date_gmt":"2023-06-15T00:24:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/daily-bullet.com\/?p=337"},"modified":"2023-06-15T00:24:27","modified_gmt":"2023-06-15T00:24:27","slug":"underground-soldiers-army-trains-for-operations-below-surface","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/daily-bullet.com\/?p=337","title":{"rendered":"Underground Soldiers: Army Trains for Operations Below Surface"},"content":{"rendered":"
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HONOLULU \u2014 Beneath the streets of the densely-populated Korean peninsula, U.S. Soldiers donned in heavy gear, traverse South Korea\u2019s dim, underground tunnels.<\/p>\n

To better face the daunting challenge of combat in large cities, Soldiers of the 2nd Infantry Division, 8th Army, have taken a step further: learning to move underground in the East Asian nation.<\/p>\n

Eighth Army commander Lt. Gen. Bill Burleson said that Soldiers will need to learn how to operate below the surface to avoid sensors and monitoring devices on the ground level.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you look at the ability to move underground, in some ways the tunnels are completely unseen by other sensors,\u201d Burleson said during the annual Land Forces Pacific Symposium May 17. \u201cWe\u2019ve got to be able to do that and fight in terrain. And in cities, some of that involves tactics and techniques. There\u2019s a leader development aspect to that. There\u2019s a [communications] aspect to that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Four known underground tunnels exist in the 150-mile demilitarized zone between North and South Korea in the peninsula\u2019s center.<\/p>\n

U.S. Soldiers from the 2nd ID and the Republic of Korea have built subterranean training facilities to prepare for conflict in cities. The partner nations engaged Exercise Warrior Shield in March 2023 to strengthen US and ROK collaboration across all domains while improving tactics and procedures. The combined forces also conducted air assault and ground forces operations.<\/p>\n

During Warrior Shield, Soldiers from 2nd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division simulated breaching the entrances of underground buildings.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey have actually acquired some material solutions to operate underground better without constraints,\u201d Burleson said. \u201cThat will allow them to operate in underground facilities \u2026 and we know there\u2019s facilities under North Korea that we\u2019ve got to be prepared for should conflict come.\u201d<\/p>\n

The headquarters of 8th Army at Camp Humphreys, South Korea sits 40 miles outside of Seoul, a city of 10 million, where the most efficient form of travel lies underground in the city\u2019s subway systems. To prepare for possible conflict, Burleson said Soldiers must become proficient in subterranean operations through training.<\/p>\n

\u201cWithout degradation, they\u2019d be able to evacuate casualties [and] be able to see, sense and communicate effectively,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Army Training and Doctrine Command adopted urban warfare training into its training centers, as the Army shifts from anti-insurgency operations to large-scale ground combat. \u201cIncreased urbanization is unavoidable,\u201d Burleson said. \u201cConflict in urban areas is unavoidable. Although warfare has evolved, we\u2019ve just got to accept the fact that there\u2019s more to be done if we want to be prepared.\u201d<\/p>\n

Burleson said the shift to urban combat has become more apparent during the Ukraine-Russian conflict where the enemy combatants have fought in city settings. He added that the Army and U.S. forces must develop capabilities across multiple domains including communications functioning effectively in a cyber and electronic space.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

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\u201cMy question is, are we ready for the strategic shock of fighting in a mega city?\u201d Burleson said. \u201cWe\u2019ve [said] for a long time, avoid fighting in cities \u2026 The avoidance idea may no longer be possible.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Burleson added that in cities, U.S. Soldiers will have to learn to operate in tight spaces and battle with precision weapons while considering the danger of using weapons near a civilian population. Retired Army Maj. Gen. Laura Yeager, former commander of the National Guard\u2019s 40th Infantry Division, added that U.S. forces must adapt to the unique conditions of combat in large cities.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou might have to use fires but you\u2019re going to want to understand what those weapons\u2019 systems\u2019 effects are on the urban environment,\u201d she said. \u201cThey may not have the effect that you expect.\u201d<\/p>\n

She said that in urban environments, aircraft such as helicopters will be more vulnerable to small arms fire as well as have limited places to land. She added that military leaders must make other considerations, such as enlisting the help of law enforcement and civic agencies.<\/p>\n

Burleson said that the commitment to planning for combat in urban zones requires collaboration and interoperability achieved through exercises like Warrior Shield.<\/p>\n

If forces do not prepare themselves, U.S. Soldiers and their allies may risk repeating history such as during the Battle of Osan on July 5, 1950. A North Korean Army had already captured Seoul from the South Korean military. Poorly-equipped and unprepared U.S. forces suffered heavy casualties during the fight.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve got to have willing commitment to prepare and be ready,\u201d Burleson said. \u201cOtherwise, we\u2019re going find ourselves where we were on the fifth of July, 1950. We must be ready.\u201d<\/p>\n

By Joe Lacdan, Army News Service<\/em><\/p>\n

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HONOLULU \u2014 Beneath the streets of the densely-populated Korean peninsula, U.S. Soldiers donned in heavy gear, traverse South Korea\u2019s dim, underground tunnels. To better face the daunting challenge of combat in large cities, Soldiers of the 2nd Infantry Division, 8th Army, have taken a step further: learning to move underground in the East Asian nation. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":338,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-337","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-army"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/daily-bullet.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/337","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/daily-bullet.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/daily-bullet.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/daily-bullet.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/daily-bullet.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=337"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/daily-bullet.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/337\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":339,"href":"https:\/\/daily-bullet.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/337\/revisions\/339"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/daily-bullet.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/338"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/daily-bullet.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=337"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/daily-bullet.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=337"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/daily-bullet.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=337"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}