Photo By Staff Sgt. Joshua LeRoi | Jeffrey Lofgren, U.S. Air Force senior mentor, left, and Hasik Park, Republic of Korea...... read more read more
Modern warfare strategy has evolved beyond tabletop maps and soldier figurines depicted in Hollywood movies to now incorporate complex data, technology, and even artificial intelligence.
As the Ulchi Freedom Shield 25 exercise unfolds at Osan Air Base, retired generals from the Republic of Korea air force and U.S. Air Force are serving as senior mentors to their commanders, drawing on decades of combat and leadership experience to strengthen decision-making, sharpen readiness, and ensure that today’s leaders are prepared for the diverse challenges of commanding.
That’s where retired officer Lt. Gen. Hasik Park and Lt. Gen. Jeffrey Lofgren from the ROKAF and USAF respectively come into play. As senior mentors to the commanders of the Seventh AF and ROKAF at Osan AB, Republic of Korea, while the base choreographs and participates in UFS 25, the mentors bring a wealth of knowledge to top military leaders from their extensive experience.
“I understand how, at the top level of a general, differences in rank and perspective can make it difficult to find the right opinions and advice when making decisions,” said Park. “Subordinates cannot timely and properly mentor a commander, so tapping into our past military experience while we are outside of the command structure is invaluable.”
In Osan AB, two iterative, annual exercises take place, named Freedom Shield and Ulchi Freedom Shield. Both aim to enhance the combined, joint, all-domain, and interagency operating environment, thereby strengthening the alliance’s response capabilities. UFS 25 is the most current of many exercises that each senior mentor has faced.
For the generals that command the Seventh AF and the ROKAF, many moving parts of these exercises fall on their shoulders.
“A commander, despite many challenges, has to make the most important decisions in combat and take responsibility,” said Park.
When it comes to the support system behind the decision-makers, senior mentors have a variety of strategies to draw from as well. It comes from understanding the real-world implications of training and recognizes that readiness is perishable and must be continually sharpened.
“We live in an incredibly complex world, and commanders have significant challenges to resolve with constrained resources,” said Lofgren. “Mentoring involves helping commanders dealing with how to best utilize our current capabilities, our Airmen, and to utilize our processes to be more effective and efficient in execution at the operational level of war up to the strategic and down to the tactical.”
For these annual exercises, senior mentors travel to Osan AB and advise their respective commander, an active-duty general, throughout the planning and execution. Their guidance enhances decision-making at the general officer level, offering a depth of expertise that may not otherwise be readily available.
“I have experience in combat and complex environments,” said Lofgren. “I can help the commander learn faster from my past experience, decide faster, and move their teams to the next level faster.”
Senior mentors also need to draw from their experiences at different levels of leadership and apply them appropriately. Based on the morals and strategic thinking of the senior mentors, they help the participants to see the larger picture and further into the future.
They set their eyes to the horizon to keep the bigger picture in mind while holding true to the values and strategies that are foundational to their leadership styles.
“All staff members must possess expertise in their related fields. Additionally, US staff members must have deep understandings and knowledge of the environment on the Korean Peninsula.” said Park.
The expertise of senior mentors also helps the participants to prepare a firm readiness posture through the exercise. Senior mentors acknowledge the importance of shaping the exercise with a realistic attitude when facing the exercise.
“We need to stay focused not just on the immediate task, but on the broader strategic picture we’re a part of,” said Park. “Even though these are exercises, we must approach and focus on them as if they were real-world incidents, because one day, they could be. It’s critical that we know how we’ll respond.”
The common goal in all of these strategies and exercises is the same, regardless of nationality: a continued dedication to peace through strength as an alliance.
“Above all, sustaining robust teamwork and building strong, lasting relationships with our joint partners is what ensures our success,” said Park.
There’s also a rewarding leadership aspect to the position, as many people currently on staff for these exercises worked under both men in the past. Park and Lofgren have been able to watch the next generation of leaders grow in ability and rank throughout the years and see how their contributions to their organizations at strategic levels played out for today’s leaders.
“In my 41 years of experience with the USAF, I know that today as senior mentors we’re here to help develop those critical thinking skills under pressure,” said Lofgren. “Commanders and their staffs need to be able to decide things with imperfect information. In summary, it’s an honor to be in this position to give that back to Airmen.”
| Date Taken: | 08.27.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 08.27.2025 21:11 |
| Story ID: | 546712 |
| Location: | KR |
| Web Views: | 85 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Senior mentors bring experience to execution in allied exercises, by SrA Josephine Pepin-Rust, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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