OSAN AIR BASE, Republic of Korea -- Various units across Osan Air Base concluded their final hours of rigorous flying operations, defense protection and emergency response as Exercise Beverly Herd 17-1 conducted its final scenarios March 3.
Osan Air Base Airmen participated alongside Republic of Korea air force partners, as well as the 119th Fighter Squadron, assigned to the New Jersey Air National Guard 177th Fighter Wing, a unit deployed here in support of the U.S. Pacific Command Theater Security Package.
Approximately 200 119th FS personnel and 12 F-16 Fighting Falcon aircraft deployed to Osan AB to assist in the evaluation of Osan’s combat airpower, alongside the A-10 Thunderbolt IIs.
“The 51st Maintenance Group seamlessly integrated the ‘Jersey Devils,’” said Col. M. Todd Hammond, 51st Fighter Wing Maintenance Group commander. “We have improved greatly as a maintenance group due to their invaluable experience and talent.”
Hammond went on to emphasize the combined effort of all involved.
“The MXG team continues to generate the most complex number of lethal sorties for their pilots and [air tasking order operations],” Hammond said.
Wing Inspection Teams evaluated not just the wing’s air superiority, but the wartime missions of Airmen across all base organizations.
Simulations included security forces responding to opposition forces inside and outside the wire, as well as many challenges to the 51st Medical Group, to include electronic communication outages, and an unprecedented scenario that had MDG and explosive ordnance teams working together to save a patient with an embedded unexploded ordnance.
“They did an outstanding job identifying the hazard, cordoning off the area and enduring all the necessary teams called to the MDG entry control point,” said Col. Krystal Murphy, 51st Medical Group commander.
As units worked cohesively to exchange tactics and techniques while improving their combat skills, WIT was at the ready to measure the efficiency and effectiveness of each organization.
“Exercise Beverly Herd 17-1 allowed all forces involved to achieve new levels of operational success,” said Maj. Gary Glojeck, 51st Fighter Wing Inspector General director of inspections. “The exercise effectively evaluated the wing’s readiness to defend, execute and sustain.”
After week-long scenarios of defending the base, executing combat operations and sustaining the total force, Osan Mustangs have emphasized their readiness to survive and “Fight Tonight.”