Tag: Osan Airbase

This change in security measures at Osan Airbase shows how upset USFK leadership must have been when the Lee administration sent special prosecutors to raid the base without notifying Osan leadership in advance:

The U.S. Air Force in South Korea is set to take measures to tighten security by retaking control of access to a gate at Osan Air Base, currently shared with the South Korean military, officials said Thursday.

The move comes after the U.S. military lodged a complaint over a special counsel team’s search and seizure at the air base in Pyeongtaek, some 65 kilometers south of Seoul, in July as part of its investigation into former President Yoon Suk Yeol’s failed martial law bid.

Currently, the U.S. side controls access to two of three gates that are in use at the air base, which also stations key facilities operated by the South Korean Air Force, such as the Air Force Operations Command and the Air Force Master Control and Reporting Center.

Once the tighter security measure goes into effect next month, South Korean military personnel would need U.S.-approved defense identification cards to access the remaining gate at the air base. The South’s military now can access it with identification cards issued by the South Korean government.

The U.S. 51st Fighter Wing confirmed that base access requirements have been “updated” to ensure security.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

This is pretty odd that the USFK was not given a heads up these investigators were going to be on Osan Airbase:

Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back said Friday a raid at Osan Air Base by a special counsel team was not an issue that requires consultations with the United States, after the U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) reportedly lodged a formal complaint over the action.

Ahn’s remarks came after USFK Deputy Commander Lt. Gen. David Iverson reportedly sent a letter to Seoul’s foreign ministry, expressing concerns over the team’s search conducted in July at the air base jointly run by the allies, as part of its investigation into former ousted President Yoon Suk Yeol’s martial law bid.

While the team searched an Air Force Master Control & Reporting Center operated by the South Korean military, the U.S. military reportedly took issue, believing it should have consulted beforehand with the USFK, considering investigators would have to go through areas under its control.

“It was not something that required consultations with the U.S.,” Ahn said during a parliamentary audit session, stressing the search took place in areas governed by the South Korean military.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

Osan AB has a new Wing Commander:

A fighter pilot with more than 400 combat flight hours assumed command of the U.S. fighter wing closest to North Korea in a ceremony at this base Friday. Air Force Col. Ryan Ley, an F-16 Fighting Falcon pilot, took charge of the 51st Fighter Wing from Col. William McKibban in front of roughly 250 airmen inside a hangar at Osan, roughly 30 miles from Seoul.

Ley was previously the deputy commander of the 52nd Fighter Wing at Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany. Prior to that, he was the chief of Combat Air Forces Division at the Directorate of Training and Readiness at the Air Force headquarters in the Pentagon.

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link.

The article doesn’t say, but how did these two guys secretly enter Osan Airbase?:

South Korean police arrested two Taiwanese men over the weekend for allegedly entering Osan Air Base without authorization during a U.S.-South Korean military open house and filming the event, according to local media.

The pair, identified as being in their 40s and 60s, were taken into custody Sunday after attending the Air Power Days event on Saturday, Yonhap News reported Monday, citing the Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police Agency.

The air base, about 30 miles south of Seoul, is home to the U.S. 7th Air Force and the South Korean air force’s operations command. Security procedures for the event required all visitors to bring a form of government identification and check in at the base’s front gate. South Korean visitors were required to have a driver’s license or student ID; foreigners unaffiliated with the U.S. military needed to have a passport.

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link, but Chinese and Taiwanese nationals were forbidden from entering the airbase and some how these two still got in.

It is pretty amazing how far some of the trash filled balloons from North Korea were able to fly into South Korea, to include Osan Airbase:

The U.S. military confirmed Monday that debris found near an on-base school the previous day had been carried by balloon from North Korea. The inflatable came down Sunday on Osan Air Base, near Osan Elementary School, according to principal Allyse Struhs’ email to parents and guardians that evening.

U.S. Forces Korea spokesman David Kim said in a statement Monday that at least one North Korean balloon was found at Osan, home of 7th Air Force and the 51st Fighter Wing about 30 miles south of Seoul. “The debris primarily consisted of basketball-size black plastic bags filled with trash and cloth, which were deemed safe with no threat to the public after investigation,” he wrote.

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link.

This chapel replaces one that was over 50 years old:

A new chapel at this base south of Seoul “promises to enhance not only our strengths in worship, but our social connections, resilience and education efforts,” the wing commander said as its doors opened last week. The chapel, three years in construction, replaces its worn-out, demolished predecessor with a sanctuary that seats 306 and room for overflow.

“The previous chapel served Airmen for more than 50 years,” 51st Fighter Wing commander Col. William McKibban said in a statement Friday. “This one promises to deliver and serve Airmen for another 50 years, symbolizing an investment in Osan today for the Airmen of tomorrow, as well as over commitment to providing top-notch support to our service members and their families.”

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link.

This was a good idea by an Air Force spouse:

Sometimes inspiration comes when you least expect it. For Air Force spouse Tenley Brady, it came during a walk in a park.

Brady, from Colorado Springs, Colo., was out with a friend after church for a walk at Osan Air Base, home of the U.S. 7th Air Force, in April when they passed a park near the base commissary. 

The park — a field of grass, a handful of trees, and two benches — is surrounded by a tall, white concrete wall topped by metal fencing.

The thought of bringing a splash of color to the park grew into an 8-month-long volunteer effort to brighten those surroundings. During an interview Dec. 8, Brady, her husband, Lt. Trey Brady, and former Osan community planner Erin Gray explained how the drab park wall became a canvas for a display of Korean culture.

The design shows Ginko trees, cherry blossoms, children playing, and a Buddhist temple atop a hill. It displays the highlights of South Korean culture.

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link.