MILITARY SERVICE

@ Republic of Korea Marine Corps

As a part of Duty of South Korea citizen, all men above 18 of age are mandatory to serve in the military for 21 months. Majority of men are put into Army but I decided to challenge myself and sign up for Republic of Korea Marine Corps (ROKMC) after completing my first year of study at University of Toronto.

ROKMC is a smaller military group of 20,000 ~ 30,000 soldiers which specialize in amphibious raids. Because of its distinct purpose of mission, ROKMC is well known to be a place to challenge oneself mentally and physically. It is also considered as the most prestigious military group enlisted men (21 month duty term) could sign up for in South Korea.

I applied to ROKMC so I can challenge myself and use the 21 month term service to develop myself mentally and physically, and make the best of the 21 months of duty. I went through a selection procedure including paper application, an interview and a physical test. Finally, I joined ROKMC on August 26th, 2013 where I went through 7 weeks of basic training and 4 weeks of tank driving / maintenance training at Army Armor School before being positioned at Kimpo, South Korea.

During the time of the service, I developed patience, strong work ethic, working under pressure, teamwork, respect and leadership.

LEADERSHIP EXPERIENCE

For the last 8 months of my service, I had an opportunity to become a squad leader and supervise over 10 - 12 enlisted men.
My main responsibilities as a squad leader were:

Training preparations and task distribution with regards to individuals skill sets to complete tasks more efficiently and precisely.
Facilitated communication between the squad and commanders (platoon leader, company and battalion commander).
Supervised platoon members' health conditions and vacation scheduling.
Managed over platoon's equipment inventory and tank maintenance status.

This was an opportunity for me to learn the importance of a good leader and how the leader can affect a team's performance. It was a valuable practical leadership experience which led me to pursue my Certificate in Engineering Leadership.