Kunsan Air Base at forefront of readiness

  • Published
  • By Dona E. Fair
  • Air Force Print News
KUNSAN AIR BASE, South Korea (AFPN) --  It's not uncommon for Airmen here to be awakened at 5 a.m. from deep sleep to hear a thunderous loudspeaker voice announcing an invasion. They jump out of bed, grab their chemical warfare gear and rush to work.

When the neighboring enemy could possibly invade at any moment, training exercises like this one are of great importance during a year-long assignment to Kunsan Air Base, also known as the Wolf Pack.

"All of the Airmen at Kunsan are focused on one thing, and that's preparing themselves for combat in support of the alliance with the Republic of Korea," said Col. Jeffrey Lofgren, 8th Fighter Wing commander.

"We don't have any other distractions or anything else on this base except for one very specific mission -- it is what we train for day in and day out," Colonel Lofgren said. "You can ask any of my Airmen what the wing's mission is and they will be able to recite it for you."

"Being assigned here has helped instill in me the importance on making sure we always perform our job right the first time, not to just look for a quick fix," said Tech. Sgt. Reginald Murry, an aircraft fuel systems craftsman with the 8th Maintenance Squadron. "The situation here makes all of our readiness training worthwhile because we are the frontline troops. Our fight is only minutes away, not five or six thousand miles from home."

Maintaining readiness at Kunsan is also assisted by the local nationals who are assigned to the base.

"Our South Korean nationals offer us great continuity. Because Kunsan is a remote tour, most of our Airmen are here for only one year, and rotate back out. Korean employees provide us continuity from year to year and help us to quickly transition into a heightened state of readiness as folks come in from various bases throughout the world," said Colonel Lofgren.

Missing family birthdays, anniversaries and holidays can make it hard to stay focused on readiness.

"Being away from family is hard but they are always with you and in your heart," said Senior Airman Jim McLarty, a fuels system journeyman also assigned to the 8th Maintenance Squadron. "It makes it a little easier here because you have the Kunsan family so you are never alone. I do miss the ones who mean the most to me."

"During the holidays we try to offer many different venues for folks to have the ability to celebrate. Our readiness must be maintained throughout this entire period of time, but we will have many different types of activities to make sure every one is allotted time to celebrate the holidays," said Colonel Lofgren.

Although the hours are long, the training is intense and the loneliness can be overwhelming, the Airmen of the Wolf Pack will continue to carry on the mission -- defend the base, accept follow-on forces and take the fight north.