Squadron hosts 'Buddy-Wing' Program

  • Published
  • By 1st Lt. Malinda Singleton
  • 51st Fighter Wing Public Affairs
OSAN AIR BASE, South Korea --  Members of the 25th Fighter Squadron here hosted Airmen from South Korea's 15th Composite Wing April 13 to 15 for a "Buddy Wing" exercise and exchange program.

The purpose of the program is to introduce and review tactics, exchange ideas and improve interoperability between the U.S. Air Force and South Korean air force pilots, maintainers and support personnel.

The exercise kicked off with an afternoon of briefings and academics allowing Airmen from both countries a chance to introduce tactics as well as review and discuss them with each other. Classroom time was followed by hands-on air training exercises where the A-10 Thunderbolt II and the KA-1 aircraft flew a joint mission based on a simulated scenario.

"One of the big things is that Koreans and Americans speak different languages, so that can make it difficult for us to work together," said Capt. Eric Hart, project officer for the Buddy Wing program and also a pilot for the 25th Fighter Squadron. "But, if we train a few times beforehand, then we can be very efficient with our missions."

Maj. Park Jwa-yrong, KA-1 pilot at Seoul Air Base, agreed with Capt. Hart and added, "Speaking English is stressful to Korean pilots to get exact translations but day by day, training partners helps."

This program allowed the U.S. Air Force and its allies an opportunity to train for combined air operations, said Col. Michael Newman, 51st Operations Group commander.

"The Buddy Wing exercises allows U.S. and South Korean air forces to work together in a joint training environment to show our ability to defend (South Korea) against any threats we think are out there," he continued. "So if we are ever faced in a contingency, we know and understand each other's tactics and procedures."

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