This is horrible for the airmen in this security force at Kunsan AB:
Members of the 8th Security Forces Squadron salute at Kunsan Air Base, South Korea, in May 2022. (Jesenia Landaverde/U.S. Air Force)
An airman was discovered dead at Kunsan Air Base in South Korea on Monday, less than two weeks after the death of a fellow service member assigned to the same unit. Senior Airman Saniyya Smalls, 25, of the 8th Security Forces Squadron, was found at an unspecified location on Kunsan, roughly 115 miles south of Seoul, the 8th Fighter Wing said in a news release Tuesday. Smalls’ death is a “tragic loss” and “has deeply impacted our community,” wing commander Col. Peter Kasarskis said in the release.
Any Air Force types want to comment if it really makes a difference having nine F-16’s stationed on Osan AB instead of Kunsan AB? It is not like that is a very far distance:
Air Force fighter jets are temporarily moving closer to North Korea to “optimize combat capability and increase readiness” on the Korean Peninsula. Nine F-16 Fighting Falcons from the 8th Fighter Wing at Kunsan Air Base, roughly 115 miles southwest of Seoul, will be assigned for a yearlong trial to the 36th Fighter Squadron at Osan Air Base, about 30 miles south of the capital, according to an Air Force news release Thursday. The F-16s began arriving at Osan earlier this month, 7th Air Force spokesman Maj. Rachel Buitrago told Stars and Stripes by phone Monday. Two fighter squadrons of F-16s and A-10 Thunderbolt IIs are permanently stationed at the base.
Military flights at Kunsan Air Base resumed Thursday following a five-month reconstruction of the installation’s 9,000-foot runway.
The $22 million project began in April and required the 8th Fighter Wing’s roughly 30 F-16 Fighting Falcons to temporarily relocate 75 miles north to Osan Air Base in Pyeongtaek city, according to a news release from the wing on Thursday.
Kunsan’s F-16s returned to their home base Wednesday after the flightline was checked for debris the previous day by the wing and the South Korean air force’s 38th Fighter Group.
It looks like there is not going to be much activity going on this summer at Kunsan AB as its runway goes through a complete overhaul:
The last U.S. Air Force fighter jets from Kunsan Air Base moved this week to Osan Air Base, about 75 miles north, ahead of a scheduled runway overhaul expected to last through the summer.
Around 30 F-16 Fighting Falcons of the 8th Fighter Wing will continue flight operations over South Korea from Osan while their 9,000-foot-long home runway receives a makeover, wing spokeswoman Capt. Kaylin P. Hankerson told Stars and Stripes by email Thursday.
Kunsan is on the country’s west coast about 115 miles south of Seoul and is home to around 4,200 U.S. troops.
I don’t think I have heard of a squadron commander getting fired this quickly:
Then-Maj. Jay Bertsch speaks at Udeid Air Base, Qatar, March 31, 2014. (David Miller/U.S. Air Force)
The commander of the 8th Maintenance Group at Kunsan Air Base in South Korea has been fired after just four months on the job, a unit spokeswoman confirmed Saturday.
Air Force Col. Jay Bertsch was let go Oct. 11 and reassigned outside the unit due to a “loss of confidence” in his abilities, 8th Fighter Wing spokeswoman Capt. Paige Hankerson said in a statement emailed to Stars and Stripes.
The Air Force Times was first to report on Bertsch’s removal on Friday.
“As a reflection of the importance of our mission and responsibility leaders bear to guide airmen, the Wolf Pack holds its leaders to a high standard,” Hankerson said, referring to the wing’s mascot. “Out of respect for the member and due to the legal process, no further information is to be provided at this time.”
The coronavirus issues within USFK has continued to spread, now to Kunsan Airbase:
Airborne early warning and control aircraft Peace Eye gets ready for takeoff at Kunsan Air Base in North Jeolla Province. Korea Times file
U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) on Friday imposed movement restrictions on all individuals affiliated with its air base in the western city of Gunsan due to the recent coronavirus outbreak there.
Under the order, travel to and from Kunsan Air Base is prohibited until Monday, though members can be granted exceptions “to perform assigned and authorized duties and missions only,” USFK said in a Facebook post.
The directive came a day after three service members on the base tested positive for COVID-19.
One service member was confirmed to have been infected, then two of his colleagues tested positive after coming into direct contact with him, according to U.S. military.
Up until Friday, USFK had reported a total of 648 COVID-19 patients among its population.
USFK also has enforced a “shelter in place” directive through Sunday that calls on service members at the Yongsan garrison in central Seoul to stay at home except for necessary activities.
Here is more details on the incident involving an F-16 at Kunsan Airbase:
An F-16 pilot who was injured when he ejected at Kunsan Air Base has been released from the hospital, but the aircraft was damaged, according to the Air Force.
The Fighting Falcon pilot from the 8th Fighter Wing suffered minor injuries when he ejected during a landing after a routine sortie on Monday.
He was released in good condition, the 8th Fighter Wing said Wednesday in a press release.
The article doesn’t say what condition the aircraft was in other than the pilot was injured. Hopefully he the pilot isn’t injured too badly:
A pilot from a United States Air force unit in the South Korean city of Gunsan sustained injuries while landing an F-16 fighter jet at the unit’s air base Monday.
The pilot from the 8th Fighter Wing suffered minor injuries while trying to get out of the fighter on the runway at around 3:30 p.m., according to military sources.
The pilot was sent to a hospital, although the exact reason the pilot tried to exit the cockpit and the overall condition F-16 at the time of the landing remain unclear.
No crash or explosion were reported at the base on South Korea’s west coast, 270 kilometers south of Seoul.
Following the incident, the head of the 8th Fighter Wing temporarily halted all military and civilian flight operations from Gunsan. Investigators are currently looking into the exact cause of the mishap.
It looks like the US Air Force has added a new tool to their toolbox of weapons to deal with any North Korean contingency:
The U.S. military has deployed to South Korea state-of-the-art missiles equipped with precision strike capability for a possible North Korea contingency.
Multiple diplomatic sources said on Monday that to their knowledge, U.S. Forces Korea(USFK) recently put in place around ten Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missiles(JASSM) at its air base in Gunsan, North Jeolla Province.
It is also known that the missiles can be mounted on F-16 fighter jets deployed to South Korea on a regular and rotational basis.
The missiles are assessed to have precision strike ability to hit key facilities in Pyongyang when launched from south of the military demarcation line(MDL). [KBS Global]
Considering how the Korean left went irrationally crazy about 20 gallons of formaldehyde that went through not one, but two water treatment plants before entering the Han River I can only imagine what they can dream up with 600 gallons of fuel dropped into this lake outside of Kunsan:
A U.S. fighter jet jettisoned its auxilliary fuel tanks into a lake near Kunsan Air Base after suffering an in-flight emergency during a training mission.
The pilot of the F-16, which was assigned to the 8th Fighter Wing, released the drop tanks Wednesday after receiving an indication of an oil system malfunction, a spokeswoman said
“The pilot safely executed the established emergency procedures, which included releasing the fuel tanks before landing unharmed,” Lt. Col. Michal Kloeffler-Howard said Friday in an email.
The tanks fell into a lake in an area owned by the Saemangeum Regional Environmental Office under the Ministry of Environment, about two miles west of Kunsan Air Base, the 7th Air Force public affairs officer said. [Stars & Stripes]
