Page 127 - RSDG Year of 2022 CREST

Presentation at the end of the course by the director of the Peace Keeping Centre
check points. We finally pulled up into a big carpark and were escorted to shuttle buses which took us to a huge gallery seating area which overlooked a vast valley. What then follow was the most incredible live fire, combined arms display I could have imagined. With everything from dozens and dozens of tanks to attack drones, to rockets and helicopters. This produced the most monumental display of firepower which must have been felt in the North (only a 12km away). The next day we visited the famous Demilitarised Zone (DMZ), first we went to an observation point and looked out over North Korea. Standing there one could not but be overwhelmed by the history of the place, but for me the single most striking thing was the trees. Everywhere I had gone in South Korea had been covered in thick forest and vegetation, this was true at the boarder as well. But as soon as the DMZ finish there was not a single tree to be seen in the whole of the North, apparently every tree and shrub had been cut due to such crippling fuel poverty.
At the Gloucester Hill war memorial on my way to the DMZ
The enduring impression that Korea has left on me is the warm and generous nature of the people there. A weekend did not go by when a different officer (regardless of rank) would invite me to visit their home city, arranged accommodation and guided me around for the weekend. I was lucky enough to visit the substantial maritime city of Busan in South, the only city that was not destroyed by the North in the Korean War. A trip to Seoul on my last weekend, which incorporated the Seoul International Fireworks Festival, where over 100,000 fireworks were set off. As I sit in Mali and reflect on my time in Korea, I do so with very fond memories. Sadly, there have been no Korean staff officers in Gao that I have been able to impress with my few ropey Korean phases and pleas- antries. However, the skills in dealing with such a vast number of nations has proved invaluable and my newfound fondness for Korean barbeque will not be leaving any time soon.
EAGLE AND CARBINE 135
Presenting a COA back to the course and directing staff