Additional Research

Article 1 (KATUSAs stand as a symbol of ROK-U.S alliance)

This article was extracted from the official homepage of the United States army. According to the article, KATUSA was initiated in July 1950 by a mutual agreement between the South Korean president Rhee Syng-man and General Douglas MacArthur. The article further describes what one has to go through to be a part of KATUSA, including the application process and the fact that the competition is around 10.5:1.

After the KATUSA soldiers complete the ROK army basic training they are classified into different methods of services. One extraordinary aspect of KATUSA is that soldiers have to adapt to both U.S. and the ROK army policies and cultures. Although the U.S. soldiers and Korean soldiers train in the same space, they have different regulations such as the method of promotion, the amount of their allowance and reasons why they are serving in the army in the first place. Thus all soldiers have to respect each other’s circumstances.  

(Link : http://www.army.mil/article/68409/ )

Forum 2 (Discussion Thread About Katusa)

    In this forum, soldiers (certified american soldiers by the Moderator) who have interacted with the KATUSA directly tell their simple personal opinion of the KATUSA. Their responses range from KATUSAs being the funniest guys they know to KATUSAs who eat alot and never seem to gain weight. Because the atmosphere of the forum is strictly informal, the responses all lean towards the personal and social side of the KATUSA, away from all the military duties and responsibilities.

(Link : http://www.reddit.com/r/army/comments/1cqu3l/8th_army_katusa_discussion_thread/ )

Video 3 (Enter the KATUSA)

 
This video shows basic information about KATUSA and illustrates why KATUSA is so important to the U.S. army. Because it is a short video, it lightly illustrates the problems that may arise while U.S. army units are garrisoned in Korea and it also lightly shows what KATUSAs do in the army.

(Link : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQ6N_i5dp5c )

Video 4 (AFN Yongsan - The KATUSA Snack Bar)

In this video, the KATUSA snack bar is introduced. It shows how Korean food is viewed among the U.S. army soldiers working with the KATUSA and also gives a few reasons why this KATUSA snack bar is so desirable within the platoons. The light, comfortable atmosphere of the army can also be seen in the video. It lightly illustrates a "life in army away from all the strict lifestyle" context.

(Link : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XtlmlJJKbnE )

Article 5 (Foal Eagle)

  The KATUSA is known to be part of 2 important exercises: The Foal Eagle, and the Key Resolve. During one of our interviews, the two terms came up with elaboration on the difficulty of these exercises. (However, only 10% of KATUSA participate in these drills)

This article elaborates on the exercise known as the Foal Eagle and Key Resolve (Mainly on Foal Eagle) that is carried out in the KATUSA, which are briefly described as "rehearsals" for an invasion. They were carried out despite the protests from North Korea with even threats to end family reunions that were previously agreed upon. Foal Eagle carries itself as a purely defensive tactic with its primary training targets being tactical units and functions. In 2001 it combined with the RSOI. While both had separate objectives and aims, research has shown that combining the two exercises may have a greater benefit.

(Link : http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/ops/foal-eagle.htm )

Article 6 (Key Resolve)

  This exercise - briefly mentioned in the previous article - was previously known as the RSOI, or the Reception, Staging, Onward movement, and Integration. This exercise focuses on strategic deployment of army platoons; rear operations command and control; force protection; force tracking; and sustainment. This exercise is held annually with the KATUSA and the US army as a demonstration of the ROK-US force capability. While only 10% of KATUSA become part of this course, it is known as one of the most complex exercises in KATUSA.

(Link : http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/ops/rsoi.htm )

Journal 6 (The KATUSA Experiment) (Not a compulsory read)

  This article shows experimental trial of KATUSA. We can get information about why and how KATUSA was formed. In 1950, Korean war began. U.S. desperately wanted to win the Korean War because it was not just conflict between North and South Korea, but ideological battle between U.S. and The Soviet Union. So, U.S. army decided to integrate ROK soldiers into American Army units. From 7th Infantry Division, several divisions of U.S. army joined this military action.
The author considers initial KATUSA system half-success policy. KATUSA program was somewhat a failure because it could not overcome the under-manned American units. However, as a supplier of trained soldiers, a turning point of Korean attitudes toward technological skill acquisition, equipment maintenance procedures, and the starting point of U.S. military presence, KATUSA project was successful. This journal could be good source for knowing about KATUSA in many ways.
(Link : http://www.riss.kr/search/detail/DetailView.do?p_mat_type=e21c2016a7c3498b&control_no=d9e68a3c46553a24ffe0bdc3ef48d419 )