I was given the certificate when I was with G-2, for providing Opfor training, weapons familiarization and live fire. We used a big gully west of Greaves and just north of Cp. Kittyhawk (Cp. Bonifas) for a firing range. It had a few old American cars that were shoved down the hill for targets. We used it when training the 9th and JSA. I used to wonder what the N. Koreans were thinking when they got to hear 20 to 30 AKs, RPKs and a bunch of RPG-7 going off on our side of the DMZ. Probably checking to see if any units or infiltrators were unaccounted for.

The great thing about being with Opfor was that we got to travel to all the units in Korea from Pusan to JSA. Hell we even gave classes to a fuel depot that had a Sp.4 as the post commander. Army, Air Force and the Marines in Okinawa. A side benefit was we also got to party in every Ville outside a post.

Two more things I remember about the 1/9th was that as you travel north of Freedom Bridge, painted on the side of one of their buildings so all the tourists going to Panmunjon would see was the saying, " We have done so much with so little for so long that we are now expected to do everything with nothing at a moments notice." The other was the Manchu belt buckle that only the 9th was authorized to wear. These guys took a lot of pride in it.

Keep up the Fire