Page 221 - 2018 Defense White Paper

3. Defense Exchanges and Cooperation Activities

At the request of a given country, the ROK Armed Forces deploys its forces to areas where
there is no risk of combat and servicemembers’ safety is assured to conduct defense exchanges

and cooperation activities in noncombat f ields such as education and training, humanitarian
assistance, and disaster relief.
In November 2013, the ROK government deployed Araw Contingent to support recovery

efforts in the Philippines that suffered severe damages from a typhoon. Araw Contingent
successfully completed its mission of assisting with the recovery of the damaged area withdrew
on December 2014. In March 2014, following the disappearance of a Malaysian passenger

plane, the ROK Armed Forces conducted a prolonged overseas multinational coalition search
operation. Furthermore, in effort to stop the spread of the Ebola virus, the ROK government
dispatched the Korea Disaster Relief Team (KDRT) to Sierra Leone, one of the major West
African countries affected by the outbreak. The KDRT which consists of 6 medical off icers, 9

nursing officers, and civilian medical personnel, was deployed to Sierra Leone from December
2014 to March 2015.
Chapter 5

| Akh 60) Unit in the United Arab Emirates | The UAE requested the deployment of the ROK
Armed Forces in August 2010 to improve their education and training standards, and advance
their defense system by benchmarking the ROK Armed Forces’ education and training system.

After obtaining the consent of the National Assembly, in January 2011, the ROK government
deployed the UAE Military Training Cooperation Group, known as the Akh Unit, to the Al Ain
st
region in response to the request. The 1 rotation of the unit had around 130 troops, and the
number increased to 150, starting with the 5 group. The Akh Unit was relocated to Sweihan
th
on September 28, 2016, at the UAE General Staff Department’s request to the MND. The UAE
government fully covered the construction and relocation cost of KRW 32 billion.

The Akh Unit provides education and training to the UAE forces’ special warfare units,
conducts combined exercises and training with the UAE forces while protecting the ROK citizens
during contingencies. The ROK Armed Forces successfully helped enhance the UAE forces’

60) The name “Akh” means “brother” in Arabic and intends to express friendliness toward the people of the UAE.

Section 4 Contribution to International Peace through Overseas Deployments 219