Wolf speaks to Pack at first commander's call

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Amanda Savannah
  • 8th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
KUNSAN AIR BASE, Republic of Korea --  The 8th Fighter Wing commander addressed the Wolf Pack Aug. 13 and 16 for his first Wolf Calls since taking command in May.

Col. John Dolan explained his Commander's Intent, his visitation policy and answered questions from wing Airmen.

There are four parts to the Wolf's Commander's Intent: Deter, Defend, Defeat and Develop.

The first three parts are deter, defend and defeat.

"You all know our mission right?" Colonel Dolan asked. "We're going to Defend the Base..."

"Hooah!" replied the crowd.

"... Accept Follow on Forces..." said Colonel Dolan.

"Bring It!" said the crowd.

"... and Take the Fight North," said Colonel Dolan.

"Wolf Pack!" replied the crowd.

"Well what does that mean? Why do we do that? The reason we do that is for commander's intent," Colonel Dolan said. "It's how we deter, defend and defeat."

By being stationed in the Republic of Korea, the Wolf Pack deters the enemy and defends the ROK, the Wolf said.

That doesn't always work, as the Wolf Pack witnessed when the South Korean corvette, Cheonan, was attacked off the west coast of the peninsula. So then the wing will defer, Colonel Dolan said.

"Defer in this case means things like the show of force during exercise Invincible Spirit," he said. "Like when we do local and peninsula-wide operational readiness exercises and when we ... do a combined exercise with the Navy and fly toward the northern limit line. That shows our resolve with the alliance here with the ROK."

Finally, if called to, we will defeat by flying, fighting and winning against the enemy, the commander said.

"To fly, fight and win tonight means we've got to be able to do this at any moment, and that's the unique part of our mission, because we may not always have the warning to do our mission," said the Wolf. "When the Cheonan sank with 46 souls on board, there was ... zero tactical or strategic warning to the United States Forces Korea commander. That same situation could happen to us, and that means that we have to have airplanes ready, we have to be able to accept follow-on forces in order to take the fight north, and that's why we have our mission. When you wake up in the morning and you go 'Why am I here?' 'Why am I going through this exercise?' 'Why am I getting up for this mission?' It's because of this."

Another part of preparing for war is shaping the local environment on a positive note by building the U.S.-ROK alliance, being good neighbors, and being responsible in the community, Colonel Dolan said.

"If you do it on a negative note, you start to deteriorate the capability of defer, defend and defeat," he said.

The last part to the Commander's Intent is to develop every Airman.

"This is a perfect time to get professional development and training done," Colonel Dolan said. "If you've got any type of education that you need to get done, now is the time to do it. You're here on a remote. You're away from your family already. You might as well take this time to your advantage and knock out that training while you can and get ahead, because if you go home you just shot yourself in the foot because now you're back home with your family and have to take the time away again."

Another part of developing Airmen is training their replacements and making the base better than when they arrived.

"When it's 11 months from now and your replacement is coming in, make sure you give a good handoff," the Wolf said. "Sometimes we may not always be able to do that because of our rotations, but if you've got a good process and you've got a good checklist installed, that will help."

"Make (the Wolf Pack) better before you leave," said Colonel Dolan. "This could be the simplest thing. This could be a better attitude in your office, you can change a checklist or procedure in your workspace, or it could be a self-help project in your office space or around your dorm. Leave it better than you got it."

Colonel Dolan then opened the floor to questions. Many were focused on lodging issues.

When the new dorms that are under construction here are opened, there will be a transition time where Airmen moving out of dorms scheduled for demolition, will move in to either the Wolf Pack Lodge or open rooms in other dorm buildings. Airmen should remember this will only be a temporary move to keep them from being sent off base, said Chief Sanders.

Base leadership is also looking at transportation options for permanent party and temporary duty Airmen sent to off-base lodging. This transportation, if it becomes available, will also be available to Airmen with visitors staying off base.

Before closing, Colonel Dolan said it is an honor to serve with the Wolf Pack.

"Every day when I get up, I see you all doing 110 percent effort around the Wolf Pack, it is truly amazing," said the Wolf. "You are an incredible force. The things that you are doing for your country are things that 95 percent of our country wouldn't even think about volunteering for. More importantly are the sacrifices your families give in order for you to volunteer and support our country. Our families back home are the ones who have to pick up the chores and take care of the kids, and I think about each one of your families every day. When this Air Force chapter is over, and you go into a new chapter of life, your families are the ones who will be there for you. So thank them for me, and I thank you from the bottom of my heart for everything you do."