Kunsan participates in Invincible Spirit exercise

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Amanda Savannah
  • 8th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
KUNSAN AIR BASE, Republic of Korea --  Members of the 35th and 80th Fighter Squadrons here flew a total of 20 sorties July 25-28 in support of exercise Invincible Spirit, the first in a planned series of Republic of Korea and U.S. Forces Korea combined naval exercises.

The exercise is in response to the unprovoked attack on and sinking of the South Korean corvette, Cheonan, off the west coast of the peninsula. Forty-six South Korean sailors were killed in the North Korean torpedo attack on the vessel.

"Invincible Spirit is defensive in nature, and designed to dissuade and deter further provocations from North Korea," said Lt. Gen. Jeffrey Remington, 7th Air Force commander. "Our message is that we are here to deter aggression, should North Korea determine that they want to continue down this path."

The 80th FS flew 12 sorties for a total of 22 hours on July 26 and 27, and the 35th FS flew eight sorties for a total of 20 hours on July 27 and 28.

"We successfully defended our targets in our Area of Responsibility from the aggressors," said Lt. Col. James Wilkerson, 80th FS commander. "We inflicted seven air losses without losing any of our own. We also worked in concert with our ROK counterparts to turn the AOR over to them so they could continue defending the area."

Additionally, many support agencies from the 8th Operations Group also played pivotal roles during the exercise.

The 8th Operations Support Squadron aircrew flight equipment sections in each squadron provided the pilots equipment they might need in the event of an emergency.

"We provided the pilots with survival vests with radios and GPS equipment, night vision goggles for the night flights, and seat harnesses to strap them to their seats," said Senior Airman Anisah Lavine, 8th OSS AFE technician. "We also issued them weapons and the aircrew chemical defense equipment for their protection during the war time scenarios."

The 8th OSS airfield operations flight ensured the aircraft departed on time and without incident during the increased flight line activity.

Airmen in the radar approach control section extended their duty days and the tower required additional manning and extended shifts to help keep the pilots safe during the extended flying windows, said 1st Lt. Andrew Jinings, 8th OSS airfield operations flight operations officer.

The 8th OSS weather flight kept their eyes on the skies during the exercise.

"From the time the pilots take off until the time they land, we mission watch them," said Tech. Sgt. Katrina Blanchard, NCO in charge of the weather flight. "We have dedicated weather forecasters in each squadron providing weather support for the missions based on their location, during this exercise as well as real world."

The 8th OG intelligence flight kept the pilots informed of any useful information coming from the North.

"We read daily intelligence for any rhetoric from our adversaries and passed the information on to the pilots," said Staff Sgt. Krystal Tokarz, 8th OG NCO in charge of intelligence operations and analysis. "We provide this information on a daily basis as well."

Gen. Walter Sharp, United Nations Command, Combined Forces Command and U.S. Forces Korea commander, thanked military members for their hard work and participation.

"I want to thank the Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines, and Department of Defense Civilians of United States Forces Korea for your selflessness, vigilance and hard work in the aftermath of the unprovoked North Korean attack on the ROK Naval Ship Cheonan," said General Sharp. "More than any weapon system, it is your teamwork, training, and devotion to duty that deters North Korean aggression. I also want to thank you for successfully planning and resourcing a large exercise like Invincible Spirit on such short notice. Your achievement lets our adversaries and their leadership know that we are an agile, adaptive force capable of taking on any challenge."