ROK on baby, ROK on!

 

"What am I saying? Should push ever come to shove, we have some very good friends in the Indo-Pacific. What would I tell the South Koreans? ROK on baby, ROK on! You are doing very well, we are proud of you, and happy to call you our friends and allies!"  

Ever tossed and turned in bed all night, worrying about South Korea? Well - don't. South Korea is doing just fine, thank you. An interesting thing happens to a country when in the early 1950's it was almost wiped out, and ever since then has been living in the shadow of three generations of nut balls to the north. South Korea, better known as the Republic of Korea (ROK), has not only learned how to survive, but also to thrive.

It gives me great solace as an American, as a retired vet, that in these turbulent times in the Indo-Pacific, we have two allies who are way ahead of the curve in providing for their own defense against thugs like China and North Korea. Those two allies are Japan and South Korea. Who is doing better between Japan and ROK? It depends on which part - overall, they are both doing excellent.

One of the things that both have excelled at is developing more self-sufficiency. In other words, besides getting some of our best stuff to defend themselves, they are also developing and manufacturing some of the best new armament in the world. Good stuff, impressive stuff. For example, the tanks which the ROKs are manufacturing are absolute world class. So much so, other countries want to buy them. And the ROKs are also manufacturing their own 6th generation stealth fighter jet. 

But just a word about Japan, as this is typical on how the sharp minds in Japan work. The US has been working on a rail gun for a long time. How long? I remember it when I worked on the Electrothermal Gun at BAE many years ago. In any event, we could not get it to scale down and work the right way. So, we scrapped it. The Japanese however, offered to pick it up and play with it a while. Before long, they figured out the bug-a-boos with it. Where is it now? Working, and ready to be put on ships. Now that the Japanese have figured out the secret sauce, we want back in.

China, Russia and North Korea better sit up and take notice. Every week, we, along with our allies, get stronger and more prepared. I have been to Japan; I have lived in Japan. I have a deep respect for the Japanese people. I have not been to South Korea (although many ROK pilots trained at Kadena AFB when I was in Okinawa), but I have heard very good things about the South Koreans also. 

What am I saying? Should push ever come to shove, we have some very good friends in the Indo-Pacific. What would I tell the South Koreans? ROK on baby, ROK on! You are doing very well, we are proud of you, and happy to call you our friends and allies!