KUNSAN AIR BASE, Republic of Korea -- Pacific Air Forces commander, Gen. Ken Wilsbach, and Chief Master Sgt. David Wolfe, PACAF command chief, visited the 8th Fighter Wing, Oct. 20.
During the visit, the command team received a comprehensive picture of how the Wolf Pack maintains its ‘Fight Tonight’ readiness posture and emphasized the importance of Kunsan’s role in supporting the larger Indo-Pacific region.
“Kunsan is located in a tough neighborhood geographically; North Korea a few miles to the north, China just west and Russia a few more miles north,” said Wilsbach. “While the Wolf Pack’s main objective is to defend this country [Republic of Korea], I want to also emphasize that Kunsan’s readiness has a larger impact on the actions of these nations in the broader region.”
Hosting an all-call for Wolf Pack Airmen, Wilsbach and Wolfe took time to discuss PACAF priorities, praise the Pack for its exemplarity readiness posture, and charged attendees to expand their focus.
“Nowhere in the Air Force is readiness more understood than at Kunsan; you exercise more than just about anyone else,” said Wilsbach. “And I know it’s a tall order, but while you’re ready to ‘Take the Fight North’ and hone that readiness, I also need you to work on being multi-capable Airmen and Agile Combat Employment-capable. When you leave Korea, everyone else is going to be talking ACE and you’ll need to understand our main strategy and tactics for dispersing the force so it can be survivable in the future.”
Before closing their remarks, both leaders offered thoughts about how the Wolf Pack can find new ways to take care of people, even in the smallest ways.
“What keeps me up at night is that we have someone in our formation somewhere at a base in PACAF who is suffering, and we can’t do anything about it because we don’t know,” said Wolfe. “So, I challenge everyone in this room to think of someone you know who is marginalized in some way and be the one to reach out— be the one who helps someone out of hard times by caring.”
The PACAF command team also took time to survey some of the base’s infrastructure and Quality of Life initiatives to gain an understanding of the concerns that affect Kunsan Air Base service members’ day-to-day lives.
“We want to ensure all of our Airmen live and work in environments that match the high standard of excellence asked of them every day,” said Wolfe. “We see that there are many ways leaders at all levels are trying to take care of the Wolf Pack and equip Airmen with the resources necessary to carry out their mission and address issues. It’s our job to also advocate and do the same.”
Wilsbach and Wolfe’s visit to Kunsan Air Base concluded a weeklong trip on the Korean Peninsula, where the leaders visited other operational units and attended various events, including the Seoul Air and Defense Expo (ADEX), to celebrate 70 years of the ROK-U.S. Alliance.