PACAF commander, command chief visit Kunsan for Thanksgiving

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Alice Moore
  • 8th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
KUNSAN AIR BASE, South Korea --  The men and women of the 8th Fighter Wing received a special surprise visit this Thanksgiving when the Pacific Air Forces commander and command chief took time out of their schedules to visit here. 

General Paul Hester, PACAF commander and Chief Master Sergeant Anthony Bishop, PACAF command chief, arrived at Kunsan Air Base to serve a Thanksgiving meal and eat with Airmen here.

General Hester said it was important for him and Chief Bishop to take the time to visit with Airmen here especially over the holiday season.

"No where else in the Pacific, do we have young people who volunteer to stand in harms way for all Americans and who also, through the process of an assignment, are assigned away from their families on a remote tour both here at Kunsan and at Osan," General Hester said. "Thanksgiving is a family event and the Air Force family is important. So is our blood family who we'd really like to hug on days like today and over the Christmas holiday period. So it's important for chief and I to come out and tell them how much we appreciate them and to thank them for their service and tell them that it's important for them to stand on the front line and edge of freedom, to guarantee that freedom and this alliance with our friends in South Korea."

Chief Bishop agreed with the general on the significance of personally thanking the Airmen here on Thanksgiving.

"I think the best trip of the year for us is to have the opportunity to come out and share a meal and just a little bit of time to thank these incredible Airmen for the mission that they do each and everyday here," Chief Bishop said. "We're blessed to be served by such great Americans and the roles that they're accomplishing here in the Pacific."

General Hester and Chief Bishop said that although they didn't get the opportunity to see some of the operations with this visit, they were very impressed with the caliber of Airmen here at Kunsan through their interaction during their Thanksgiving meal with them.

"We didn't get a chance to see the Airmen operating, launching sorties, building bombs or diving into ditches with gas masks on, but I've seen that previously. So we only got a chance to sit around the Thanksgiving dinner table and talk about what was important to us as individuals and as a Nation, he said. "And what comes through loud and clear is the maturity, the professionalism of each one of these Airmen that I got a chance to eat lunch with."

General Hester also said he was impressed by the level of respect the Airmen here had for each other and how they enjoyed their Air Force family here as well as missing their own families.

Chief Bishop said he was impressed by the level of focus Wolf Pack Airmen have here.

"The thing that strikes me all the time is the fact that they understand what they're doing here, he said. "They understand the mission and their focus of "taking the fight north."
The Airmen here are just incredibly professional. They understand the significance of their roles and mission here in the pacific and are doing great things for our nation."
Colonel CQ "Wolf" Brown said it is truly an honor to serve with leadership such as General Hester. He said General Hester's Thanksgiving visit was just one more example of the care he has for Airmen.

"General Hester has played a vital part in helping the Wolf Pack receive funding for several of our ongoing infrastructure programs, improving the quality of life for our Airmen. He truly cares about the men and women of the 8th Fighter Wing," Colonel Brown said.

Airmen here who ate with leadership said they were thankful they had the opportunity.

"I really appreciate the leadership taking the time to visit with us," said Senior Airman Brittany Jackson, 8th Civil Engineer Squadron engineering assistant. "This visit showed that leadership really cares about what the Airmen here are going through with us not being here with our families. I really enjoyed this experience."

Before departing, General Hester and Chief Bishop emphasized their thanks to the men and women of the Wolf Pack and their families.

"As we say thank you its always important to say thank you not just over a meal in a dining facility, but it's also important that we get the chance to walk the flightline, go out to the bomb dumps, go over to the hospitals, go into the back shops to where people are serving and tell them that their individual job is important to the overall mission that they're performing here. It's (Airman's individual mission) also important to the overall mission that our Nation sends us on," General Hester said.

"The service and sacrifice by these brave Airmen here is just amazing, but our family members that are taking care of their children and their homes and all that's going on back in the United States or wherever they may be is just as important," Chief Bishop said. "So I think on today, which is a day of giving thanks, its important that we thank our family members for their service and their sacrifice to allow their Airmen to be here to do the missions that they do in order to support our nation. For all of our Airmen and their families, this is a wonderful day."