Photo By Staff Sgt. Jacob Skovo-Lane | U.S. Air Force Chaplain (Capt.) Stacey Pickering poses for a photo August 22, 2017, at...... read more read more
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Twenty-six citizen Airmen of the Mississippi Air National Guard’s 186th Air Operations Group temporarily deployed from Key Field Air National Guard Base, Meridian, M.S., to Osan Air Base, Republic of Korea to participate in Ulchi Freedom Guardian from the 11th to the 31st of August 2017,
The annual exercise is led by the Republic of Korea and United States Combined Forces Command. It is a large scale command post exercise that is designed to enhance readiness, protect the region and maintain stability on the Korean peninsula.
The 186th AOG is an Air Force Forces staff augmentation unit. The team often supports exercise or contingency operations enabling effective mission response. The 186th AOG is often tasked to support the 1st Air Force at Tyndall Air force Base, Florida.
By exercising to defend from a North Korean attack during UFG the group is able to share their expertise with the U.S. and ROK forces participating in UFG. They are also able to build on their skill set and bring that knowledge back to Mississippi and the 1st Air Force.
“I think most everyone in the U.S. and Mississippi has heard about North Korea and the threat they pose to South Korea, Japan and the U.S.,” said Col. John Grimes, Director of Operations for the 186th AOG. “By being here, we are helping to deter the regime from using weapons of mass destruction while reassuring our allies that we are committed to our common defense.”
One way the AOG provides support to the forces on the peninsula is through joint air component coordination elements. These teams are spread out across multiple installations in South Korea to aid in coordination between the multiple components to ensure airpower is applied in the most effective way.
“JACCE teams are an integral part of the AOG; we rely on the expertise in the all the staff functional areas to provide accurate timely answers to questions from the other services' staffs and leadership,” Grimes said. ‘Personally knowing the staff members makes it faster to find or disseminate information needed to accomplish tasks.”
While serving a vital role in the region these citizen Airmen are impacting the lives of many. By integrating with active duty forces on the peninsula they are able to support the exercise’s goal of strengthening the ROK-U.S. Alliance.
“It’s been an experience getting a feel of what North Korea is capable of and what the U.S. and ROK forces are capable of in the event that we have to protect the peninsula,” said Airman 1st Class David Welford Jr., deployed as a communications focal point technician for exercise Ulchi Freedom Guardian from the Mississippi Air National Guard's 186th Air Operations Group. “We have the ability to come together for a singular purpose of defending the peninsula and I think it’s great to be part of that.”
| Date Taken: | 08.11.2017 |
| Date Posted: | 09.05.2017 04:06 |
| Story ID: | 247099 |
| Location: | OSAN AIR BASE, 41, KR |
| Web Views: | 388 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, 186th Air Operations Group participates in Ulchi Freedom Guardian, by SSgt Jacob Skovo-Lane, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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