Seven E7s Who Gave Up Their Leave... Volunteered for GP Duty

From the left, Corporals Yoo Young-geon, Yoo Seok-ju, Park Shin-woo, Yoo Dong-gu, Jung Rae-hwan, Lee Tae-yong, and Jung Se-hoon are smiling brightly as they pledge to fully commit to the GP security operation.

[Asia Economy Yang Nak-gyu Reporter] Seven sergeants about to be discharged have voluntarily given up their leave and volunteered for guard duty at the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) Guard Post (GP), inspiring those around them.

According to the Army on the 22nd, Sergeant Yu Dong-gu, Yu Young-geon, Yu Seok-ju, Park Shin-woo, Jung Rae-hwan, Lee Tae-yong, and Jung Se-hoon, all belonging to the reconnaissance company of the Eagle Regiment, 5th Division, voluntarily gave up between 4 and 16 days of leave and started working at the GP.

Those scheduled to be discharged in early July were not originally assigned to GP guard duty. If deployed to the GP, they would not be able to rotate duties for several weeks, making it impossible to use all their leave before discharge. If excluded from GP deployment, they could flexibly serve by adjusting their positions and duty stations and use all their remaining leave. Especially, according to the Ministry of National Defense guidelines to prevent the spread of COVID-19, if they used their leave before discharge, they could be discharged without returning to the unit. However, the seven sergeants visited Captain Kim Tae-hoon, the reconnaissance company commander, expressing their strong desire to be assigned to the GP at least once, even if it meant giving up their leave.

Captain Kim, wanting to fully guarantee the leave of those who had devotedly completed their missions, advised them to "think carefully once again." However, the seven sergeants unanimously said that they wanted to stay with their comrades until the very end, sharing hardships together.

Corporal Yu Seok-ju said, "As the senior and eldest among the unit's warriors who best understand and can perform GP guard duty, we made this decision after much deliberation." Cook Sergeant Park Shin-woo explained, "When I saw my comrades happy eating the food I made, I felt like a mother. I decided to stay at the GP to ensure my comrades had delicious meals until the end of my military service." Yu Dong-gu said, "With COVID-19, not only the frontline units but all citizens are going through difficult times. In this crisis, fulfilling the given mission as a soldier is the greatest service to the country and the people."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.