PACAF commander visits Kunsan

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Alice Moore
  • 8th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
KUNSAN AIR BASE, South Korea --  The new Pacific Air Forces commander, Gen. Howie Chandler, visited the Airmen of the 8th Fighter Wing Jan. 30 through 31. 

This was the general's first visit to Kunsan since becoming the PACAF commander. 

The trip to Kunsan was the last stop of General Chandler's initial visit to all the bases within PACAF. While here, General Chandler toured the based, held a commander's call, visited various facilities and shared some of his thoughts with Wolf Pack members to include what he thought of the U.S. Air Force and Republic of Korea alliance as well as thanking Airmen here for their service. 

"I've had a great opportunity to come down and see the Wolf Pack. If you go all the way back to the Korean War and the armistice (agreement), the U.S. Air Force and the ROKAF in particular, have had what I would call a very strategic relationship that has contributed to what you see in terms of security and stability on the peninsula." 

General Chandler said that he believed Kunsan Air Base plays a big part in ensuring security and stability is maintained throughout the peninsula. Not only by the missions Airmen here are familiar with, but also due to the fact that Airmen of the 8th Fighter Wing are co-located and work closely with ROK Airmen assigned to the 38th Fighter Group here. 

He said that while visiting the base, he was impressed by the Wolf Pack organization. 

"It's (Wolf Pack) a great team. It's a great organization that has great leadership. Kunsan has always been a special place and the 8th Fighter Wing has always been a special organization. That remains as true today as it's ever been," he said. 

The general also said that the security and stability throughout the whole Pacific Region has been due in part to the efforts of American Airmen, Soldiers, Sailors and Marines. 

"We don't find ourselves at war in the Pacific Theater, in large part because of the young men and women who have been here and who have allowed this part of the world to develop the way it has and I think we're all very fortunate. It's (PACAF) is a great place to live and work and I feel very fortunate to be the PACAF commander." 

Before leaving the base, General Chandler expressed his gratitude to the Airmen here as well as their family members. 

"I would just like to thank the folks here at Kunsan for what they do for us. I'd also like for them to thank their families because it's their families back home who are the ones that obviously bare some of the burden to allow them to come over here to do the job they do to promote security and stability on the peninsula. They (the Airmen here) do a great job of it, so we'll do the best we can to balance the readiness we need to do our jobs with being able to take care of our Airmen." 

As the commander of PACAF, General Chandler is responsible for approximately 50,000 military and civilian personnel serving in nine major locations and numerous smaller facilities, primarily in Hawaii, Alaska, Japan, Guam and South Korea.