U.S. Air Force Airmen assigned to the 51st Fighter Wing participated in Ulchi Freedom Shield 24 at Osan Air Base, Republic of Korea, Aug. 19-23.
The 51st FW is the most forward deployed permanently based wing in the U.S. Air Force. The unique location of the Wing’s installation influences how Team Osan trains for the “Fight Tonight” mission.
Aligning strategic goals with tactical execution, 51st FW personnel collaborated with Seventh Air Force exercise planners. The combined effort increased the scope of the simulated war scenario aligning with U.S. Pacific Air Force objectives of strengthening allies and relationships across the U.S. Indo-Pacific region.
“The 51st FW ensured that all aspects of the training event were synchronized between us and 7th Air Force,” said Capt. Nivruth Maramreddy, 51st FW deputy director of exercises. “Aligning our objectives with those of higher headquarters creates a realistic environment…allowing members to practice responding to dynamic updates received in real time from higher headquarters, just as they would during real world events.”
In addition to synchronizing their planning efforts with Seventh Air Force, the wing also incorporated large scale, live fire training events; strengthening interoperability and combat readiness of U.S. and allied forces on the Korean peninsula. During the exercise, Airmen applied Agile Combat Employment concepts to remain proactive and reactive to various operational maneuvers generating combat power throughout the course of the exercise.
“Seventh Air Force’s participation in UFS24 has largely been a command and control-level exercise, with any tactical execution conducted by simulated forces,” said Lt. Col. Justin Noehl, Seventh Air Force Operations and Plans Division deputy director. “For UFS24, we have added in all tactical units in Seventh Air Force, incorporating the normal wing readiness exercises into the UFS battle rhythm, with live personnel and equipment working through the operational to tactical linkages and problem sets, which enables a much more comprehensive training environment across all levels.”
The 51st FW and 7th Air Force created an environment that closely mirrored the complexities of actual warfare through planning, real time adjustments, and dynamic scenario management. These aspects set UFS24 apart from previous readiness exercises with its execution of command-and-control elements and integration of U.S. Air Force partners on the Korean peninsula.
“UFS24 highlights some of the issues that arise during the fog and friction of war, helping train members to think on their feet and accomplish the mission in a dynamic, tasking environment,” said Col. William McKibban, 51st FW commander. “The larger the exercise, the greater the likelihood that things will be miscommunicated or forgotten; knowing this, we ensured that we would have redundant methods of communication to keep everyone on the same game plan.”
Combined joint training events like UFS24 demonstrate the U.S.’s commitment to building a robust defense posture to defend the people of the ROK against a spectrum of security threats and reinforce regional stability within the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command. UFS24 not only challenged the wing’s communication skills but strengthened cooperation between Team Osan and other U.S. Air Force units on the Korean peninsula.
“We wanted to create a realistic exercise that ensures our warfighters are ready to Fight Tonight,” said McKibban. “Exercises of this scale and scope, which was synchronized with 8th FW, Seventh Air Force and our ROK partners, demonstrate why our mission and presence on the peninsula are of utmost importance.”
