[INFO] The Korea Herald wrote an elaborate feature on Taehyung’s choice of unit for his military service
“V in particular has his eyes on becoming a member of the special forces unit of the command defending the nation's capital.
It has been reported that the soon-to-be 28-year-old has applied to serve in the 35th Special Mission Battalion, a counterterrorism unit of the Capital Defense Command that is in charge of defending Seoul.
"I know ARMY (fans) are worried. Honestly, I'm applying (to the 35th Battalion) because I wanted to push myself.... I can be careful when I need to. I'll make sure that I won't get hurt," V told fans via K-pop fan community platform Weverse on Sunday. Fans' concern derives from the fact that the 35th Battalion is infamous for its tough training process, which exists for good reason. The unit is entrusted with counter-terrorism operations in Seoul, and is one of the five military units designated by the South Korean law as counter-terrorism forces.
As special forces, soldiers in the battalion are required not only to have top-notch physical capabilities and marksmanship, but also hand-to-hand combat skills, the ability to rappel down from buildings or helicopters, and other skills needed to handle extreme situations fighting terrorism. It has been reported that members of the battalion have trained in some form of martial arts such as Taekwondo, Judo or Aikido.
The majority of its soldiers are categorized as "special warriors," a rank granted to soldiers who excel at tests of their physical and combat capabilities. The system started in 2007. The soldiers are expected to retain their physical capacities in the training facilities
The Capital Defense Command has garnered nationwide attention lately for being featured prominently in new hit film "12.12: The Day," which depicts the military coup of Dec. 12, 1979, through which military dictator Chun Doo-hwan rose to power. Then under the command of Gen. Jang Tae-wan, it was the last line of defense against the rebel forces.
Members of the 35th Special Mission Battalion are handpicked through a process including a physical test and interview.
🐰 it looks like this will be my last live before enlisting. today i just sent off v hyung and namjoon hyung, and then ate a meal and then did some things i need to do, cleaned up, and then prepared some things so the live ended up being a little late, sorry
Kmedia shared pictures of the banners Taehyung’s Korean Fanbase put up along the road/entrance route to the training center. The banners contain messages of love and words of encouragement for Taehyung ahead of his military service.
“Taehyung-ah, guard our country! We will be the ones who guard you!”
“Taehyung-ah, the purple heart will always stay in my heart”
“Taehyung, you are my beginning and end”
“Taehyung-ah, one and a half year is nothing! We will wait for you!”
weverse 231210 @bts_twt
namjoon: to the people whom i love, i hope you are well.
it seemed the day would never come, but here we are, at last.
i swear there were a million things i wanted to share
but putting pen to paper after such a long time has been quite the challenge.