Exclusive Soldiers Suffer Heat in Tanks
By Jung Sung-ki
Staff Reporter
The military is under fire for turning its back on requirements for the safety and welfare of soldiers in the field.
A case in point is the upgrade plan of K1A1 battle tanks. In 2007, the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS), the Army and the developer of the tank, Hyundai Rotem, consulted one another about the requirements for the K1A1 upgrade.
Several upgrade items were decided on at that time with a focus on equipping the tank with the C4I network-centric battlefield management systems. The modification work is scheduled to start in 2012 after the production of the K1A1s has been completed.
Ignoring a suggestion by the Army and Hyundai Rotem, however, the JCS excluded the installation of an air conditioning system in the tank from the list of upgrade requirements, according to a military source.
``The military has come up with an ambitious catch phrase of developing advanced and digitalized armed forces. But the mindset of decision-makers in the military has rarely changed and appears to remain in the older, analog era,'' the source said.
The rationale behind the JCS's decision was that ``an air conditioning system doesn't affect field operations much, and soldiers can and should overcome such a difficulty in the field,'' the source said on condition of anonymity.
Critics say such an argument is anachronistic and contradictory to the military's pursuit of improving the welfare of soldiers.
The soldiers have also begun to complain about JCS's negligence.
``In the summer, it's quite tough to conduct a field exercise inside a battle tank. Tank operators sometimes suffer heat exhaustion and may suffer heat stroke on extremely hot days,'' a sergeant at a mechanized division in Gyeonggi Province told The Korea Times.
``If the military plans to spend money for upgrading the K1A1 tank to an up-to-date one, why doesn't it consider installing the air conditioning system? The military leadership should understand what soldiers in the field really want, not just speaking of military modernization.''
Most high-end tanks in operation around the world, including the M1A1 tank used by the U.S. Forces Korea, are equipped with the air conditioning system, a basic operational requirement. The indigenous K2 Black Panther main battle tank, which will begin service in the coming years, will also have the system.
Hyundai Rotem is worried that the lack of an air conditioning system might negatively affect exporting the K1A1 to Southeast Asia and other nations in warmer regions.
During the Seoul International Aerospace and Defense Exhibition (ADEX) 2009 held in October, delegates from Thailand, Malaysia and Saudi Arabia showed keen interest in the K1A1 upgrade plans and the K2 tank, according to officials at the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA).
Against that backdrop, Hyundai has already invested in developing an air conditioning system for the K1A1, without budget support from the military.
``We're developing an air conditioning system for the K1A1 and hope that the JCS and DAPA will review the plan positively in terms of the welfare of soldiers as well as the tank's future exports,'' a Hyundai official said, requesting to remain anonymous.
Earlier this year, the JCS was under fire for neglecting the safety of sailors operating in waters off the piracy-ridden Somalia coast. Even after receiving a warning about the possibility that Somali pirates could acquire surface-to-air guided missiles, the JCS didn't' take any measure to protect its sailors there, nor did they install missile protection equipment in a destroyer's Lynx helicopter.
Almost all navies deployed to the Somali waters are operating maritime helicopters equipped with flare launchers, infrared guided missile countermeasure devices and radar warning receivers.
The JCS at that time promised it would come up with countermeasures to cope with any potential threat but has failed to deliver on its promise since then. The only measure it took was to supply 25-kilometer-range marine binoculars for spotters in the helicopter of the Cheonghae unit.
Intelligence authorities said Somalia's pirates were presumed to have obtained Stinger shoulder-launched anti-aircraft missiles from al-Qaeda. The Stinger missile can hit targets flying as high as 3,500 meters at a speed of Mach 2. It has a range of 8 kilometers.
The Somali pirates also run sophisticated operations using high-tech equipment such as satellite phones, rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) launchers and GPS receivers. They are also known to have acquired Soviet-era anti-aircraft missiles such as the SA-7 and SA-18.
병사는 더워도 참아라?
군이 야전에서 근무하는 병사들의 안전과 복지에 신경쓰지 않는 데 대해 비판이 거세지고 있다.
지난 2007년 합참은 육군의 K1A1전차의 업그레이드 소요를 결정하면서 육군과 제작사인 현대로템의 건의에도 불구하고 전차내 에어컨 시스템설치는 반대한 것으로 알려졌다. 업그레이드 소요는 C41미래전장 시스템 구축에 초점을 맞췄을 뿐이다.
한 군 관계자는 “현재 우리군은 선진화되고 디지털화된 군 육성이라는 야심찬 구호를 외치고 있지만 실제 군 수뇌부의 인식은 아날로그 시대에 머물러 있는 것 같다”며 개탄했다.
당시 합참의 반대논리는 “에어컨 설치유무는 전차훈련에 심대한 영향을 미치지 않고 병사들은 그정도 더위는 참을수 있고 참아야 한다”라는 것이다.
한 전차부대 장병은 “여름에 전차훈련시에는 힘든 게 사실”이라며 “전차병들은 혹서기에는 종종 열사병에 시달리기도 한다”고 말했다. 그는” 이왕 돈을 들여 전차 장비 개선을 할 거라면 에어컨 하나 달아주는 게 큰 대수인가?”라며 “군이 야전병사들이 정말 원하는 것이 무엇인지 깨달아야 한다”고 덧붙였다.
에어컨 설치 미비는 수출전선에도 영향을 미칠 전망이다. 현재 현대로템은 태국, 말레이시아 등 날씨가 더운 동남아 국가들에 K1A1업그레이드형을 수출 추진 중이다. 지난 서울 에어쇼에서 이들 국가의 사절단들은 현대의 K1A1와 신형 K2흑표 전차에 지대한 관심을 보인 것으로 알려졌다.
이와 관련, 현대는 궁여지책으로 일단 자비를 들여 K1A1에어콘 장비를 개발 중인것으로 알려진다.
한 관계자는 “현대가 자체적으로 에어컨 설비 개발을 진행 중이며 향후 합참과 방사청이 이 문제를 다시 심도있게 검토했으면 하는 바램이다”라고 말했다.
합참의 무사안일 대응은 이번만이 아니다. 올초 소말리아에 파병중인 청해부대의 링스헬기에 대공미사일 방어 시스템이 없어 위험에 노출되어 있다는 첩보를 받고도 대응을 하지 않아 비판을 받은 바 있다.
당시 합참은 뒤늦게 관련 장비 탑재를 하겠다는 약속을 했지만, 최근까지 장거리 망원경을 헬기조종사들에게 지급한 것 외에 아무런 조치도 취하지 않고 있다.
소말리아 해적들은 최근 미국의 스팅어 대공미사일을 입수한 것으로 미 정보당국이 한국측에 전한바 있다. 소말리아 해적들은 이 외에도 RPG, 소련제 SA-7/18등 대공화기를 다수 보유하고 있는 것으로 알려진다.