Tag: Osan Airbase

Fortunately no one was injured or killed from this crash:

An American F-16 Fighting Falcon crashed Saturday in an agricultural field near Osan Air Base, according to the 51st Fighter Wing

The crash occurred around 9:45 a.m. about 10 miles from Osan and 30 miles south of Seoul, the wing said in a news release. The pilot ejected safely and is in stable condition after being taken to an urgent care facility on base.

No other injuries were reported and an investigation is underway, the wing said.

The F-16 was assigned to the 8th Fighter Wing out of Kunsan Air Base, about 115 miles south of Seoul. Around 30 F-16s from Kunsan were temporarily relocated to Osan in March due to routine repairs of the base’s runway.

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link.

If President Yoon wanted to show President Biden where close integration between the USFK and the ROK Military happens, the KAOC is good place to start:

President Yoon Suk-yeol and U.S. President Joe Biden visited an Air Force operations center Sunday on the last stop of Biden’s three-day trip to South Korea, underscoring the allies’ readiness against threats from North Korea.

The two visited the Korean Air and Space Operations Center (KAOC), which is situated in an underground bunker and serves as a key command post for air and space operations at Osan Air Base in Pyeongtaek, 70 kilometers south of Seoul.

Yoon described the center as a symbol of the South Korea-U.S. alliance and a key site where the two countries jointly respond to “continually advancing nuclear and missile threats from North Korea.”

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

I guess we are about to see how the new USFK Commanding General handles those who don’t follow the COVID protocols:

The U.S. military in South Korea is investigating videos showing dozens of people dancing close together, without masks at a club on an air base on Saturday night.

Videos posted to Instagram and TikTok show military personnel drinking and dancing during a club-like event at the Enlisted Club at Osan Air Base in Pyeongtaek, roughly 30 miles from Seoul.

Service members, according to the current policy imposed by U.S. Forces Korea, are required to wear masks in all indoor common areas on military facilities to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

USFK spokesman Col. Lee Peters in an emailed statement Tuesday said the command was aware of the event and was still “gathering all the facts and pertinent information.”

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link.

At least there was no tragic ending to this missing servicemember case:

A U.S. airman who went missing last week returned safely to Osan Air Base on Tuesday nearly a week after he was reported absent from his unit, the military said.

The Air Force launched a search for Staff Sgt. Tristin Blake Jarvis, 26, of the 51st Force Support Squadron on July 9, saying he was last seen in the vicinity of the Osan Fitness Center the day before, according to the 51st Fighter Wing.

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link.

For readers in the Osan AB area, be on the lookout for this missing airman:

Search crews fanned out across Osan Air Base to look for a missing U.S. airman on Friday, a day after he was reported absent from his unit, officials said.

Staff Sgt. Tristin Blake Jarvis, 26, of the 51st Force Support Squadron was last seen in the vicinity of the Osan Fitness Center on Wednesday afternoon, according to a press release.

However, security forces searched his room and determined he had been there before changing and leaving, said 1st Lt. Daniel de la Fe, a spokesman for the 51st Fighter Wing.

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link.

With most of the uniformed servicemembers staying on base, the amount of contractors, DOD civilians, and Korean employees that live off base continue to be the biggest risk of infection:

An American contractor who works at Osan was confirmed to have coronavirus on Saturday, the military said, raising the number of infections affiliated with U.S. Forces Korea to 18.

It is the second case in as many days for Osan, which has gone on partial lockdown to prevent the virus from spreading further. The contractor, who last visited the air base on Wednesday, is in isolation at his off-base residence as directed by South Korean and U.S. military medical personnel, USFK said in a press release Saturday.

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link, but only two uniformed personnel have tested positive of the 18 USFK coronavirus cases.

Osan Airbase’s A-10 aircraft have just had an upgrade that will allow them to continue to support USFK into the 2030’s:

All but one of nearly two dozen Air Force A-10 Thunderbolt IIs in South Korea have completed wing upgrades that should extend the service life of the close combat support jet well into the 2030s.

The new wings are designed to last up to 10,000 flight hours without a major inspection. The upgrade includes a new wiring harness created for easier wing removal and to reduce the chance of damaging the wing during the process.

“Most of our airplanes [at Osan] have between 9,000 to 12,000 airframe hours. They are old, but this upgrade is helping us to keep going. I wouldn’t be surprised to see some of the airplanes go 16,000 hours,” Senior Master Sgt. Dustin Schwartz, lead production superintendent for the 25th Aircraft Maintenance Unit, 51st Fighter Wing, told Stars and Stripes on Wednesday.

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link.