soldier who was highly motivated, well trained, and well disciplined; each individual Korean trooper appeared to speak well for the ambitions and discipline of the Korean Army by his tactical ability and his conduct as a personal representative of his country in a foreign combat zone.
The entire Korean Army was screened and many of its finest officers and men were assigned to the Korean Capital Division. Almost all of the combat arms' junior officers were graduates of the Korean Military Academy. Each officer was handpicked by senior Capital Division officers. A complete replacement of the division staff was accomplished within the first few days of activation. An after action report of 26 November 1965 gave the method used:
Since the Capital Division was a reserve division within a reserve corps and therefore had a very low priority with respect to all personnel actions, more than ninety percent of the personnel had to be replaced to comply with the high standards for assignment. The result was that a large number of highly skilled personnel were transferred from units within First ROK Army to fulfill the requirement. In order to insure that an imbalance among levied units did not occur as a result of this action, a directive was sent to each combat division which equitably distributed the levy of critical MOS's. Approximately 500 personnel were obtained from each division. Unit replacement into the receiving unit, at squad and platoon level, was accomplished by this action.
Enlisted men were given inducements to serve in the division. They would receive credit for three years of military duty for each year served in Vietnam as well as additional monetary entitlements; further, combat duty would enhance their future Army careers. Similar procedures and benefits applied to the 9th (White Horse) Division as well.
President Park Chung Hee personally selected such senior officers as General Chae. Chae was a good man in Korea and, considering his instructions from his president, did as well if not better than anyone else the Korean government could have sent. It is believed that if General Chae had been under U.S. operational control, all Americans who had official contact with him would have sung his praises. As it was, he had the difficult job of pleasing his government at home and staying on somewhat good terms with the Americans as well.
It is of considerably interest to compare the Koreans as the Americans had known them in the Korean War with the Koreans as they had operated in combat in South Vietnam. In Korea they had leaned heavily upon the Americans for competent advice in most fields of tactical support. In Vietnam, it may be unequivo[cally]
