RoK: The third batch of Ashena off to Afghanistan

The third batch of the Ashena Unit, made up of Korean contingent troops to protect Korean workers at reconstruction projects in Afghanistan, will be on their mission in the war-torn country.



Gen. Kim Sang-ki, Korean Army chief of staff, center, encourage troops
 of the third batch of Ashena Unit during a dispatch ceremony that took place on
June 8 at the Army Special Task Force Headquarters in Incheon.                
By Jeong Eui-hoon

 The Korean Army held a dispatch ceremony for the third contingent of Ashena Unit at the Army Special Task Force Headquarters in Incheon on June 8. Gen. Kim Sang-ki, the Army chief of staff, encouraged troops who will be implementing their mission under difficult circumstances in the Middle East country.

The third batch of the unit, consisted of some 350 troops specializing in infantry combat, engineering, aviation and medic, is going to fulfill its mission in Parwan Province, northern Afghanistan, which housed hundreds of Korea’s Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) and civilian workers. Troops will be also in charge of guarding PRT base in Charika and Korean embassy.

The third batch is first organized in September last year and since then the troops have been under military training, including strategic training in different situation, escorting process and measures to cope with emergencies. They also learned local culture and international law in order to fulfill the mission in Afghanistan well.

In particular, the dispatch ceremony came into the spotlight as eight soldiers who are children of active-duty officers and civil servants and another eight troops who joined the army while studying abroad became members of the third batch. Also 62 have an experience of serving overseas missions.  

“Ashena Unit is recognized as a leading role model to our allies that fulfill its mission successfully under any circumstances,” said Kim. “I urge soldiers of the third batch to show off Korean military’s status in the world like former the first and the second batch.”

RoK MoD