Photo By Staff Sgt. Evan Porter | Republic of Korea air force Warrent Officer Kim Jangho, left, and Capt. Kim Banseok, right, Air Force Operations Center air defense guided weapon maintenance officers, discuss operations during exercise Freedom Shield 26 at Osan Air Base, Republic of Korea, March 10, 2026. FS26 is an annual combined exercise across the Korean Peninsula designed to strengthen alliance coordination and enhance response capabilities across a range of security threats. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Evan Porter) see less
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Behind the mission: Seventh Air Force logistics powers Freedom Shield 26
OSAN AIR BASE, Republic of Korea – During exercise Freedom Shield 26, the Seventh Air Force’s A4 logistics division is on the ground working alongside their Republic of Korea air force partners to drive the engine that makes combat airpower possible across the Korean Peninsula.
The Seventh Air Force’s A4 logistics division manages a diverse portfolio encompassing aircraft maintenance, logistics readiness, logistics plans and a munitions team. In the high-tempo environment of major exercises like FS 26, taking place March 9-19, 2026, the division functions as a critical link between strategy and execution.
“Logistics wins wars,” said U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Kevin Walton, A4 logistics division chief. “Without logistics, you’re not going to have fuel. You’re not going to have ammo. You’re not going to have an aircraft. You’re just not going to have the supply chain to make sure all of that stuff exists.”
One of the key aspects of FS 26 is working side by side with Republic of Korea counterparts. For the A4 logistics division, this cohesion is imperative in maintaining a strong combined force connection, ensuring sustained air superiority.
"Because we're in Korea, one of the most important resources that we have is our host nation partners,” said Walton. “Whether it be through the mutual logistics support agreements, wartime host nation support, or whether it be through the Korean Service Corps, our host nation partners have incredible capability to augment and enhance the logistics machine.”
Beyond just physical readiness, the A4 logistics division utilizes FS 26 to modernize how they track logistical and combat capabilities by implementing the Control Incident Management Emergency Response Application (C2IMERA) to better help leadership make decisions for support capabilities.
“We are moving on to the same network and platform that our subordinate wings use to fight the war,” said U.S. Air Force Master Sgt. Patrick Hayes, Pacific Air Forces A4 installations and contracting branch superintendent. “It is giving us much better visibility of the data they are reporting at their level.”
For the A4 logistics division, the ultimate measure of success isn’t just fueled up jets or cleared runways, but instead, it is also found in the continued partnership that is deeply integrated between the U.S. and the host nation.
“If I have one goal moving forward, it's to make sure that as a team, when we speak as a logistician, you're hearing the ROK and U.S. voice through the same person,” Walton said. “Whether we speak the same language or not, we speak the language of logistics, and that is universal.”
