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Receive Forces: IPE prepares inbound Airmen for success

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman David Owsianka
  • 51st Fighter Wing Public Affairs
OSAN AIR BASE, Republic of Korea --  This is the seventh in a series of articles relating an overview of the mission at Osan Air Base. The major role Team Osan plays in the Republic of Korea and the extent of its mission will be showcased this week in the way Team Osan's Airmen keep the base prepared to "Receive Force." Next week, there will be an in-depth look at how the base reinforces stability in the peninsula. Concluding the series will be a wrap-up article with a video showing the broad spectrum of the base's mission.

As service members arrive at Osan Air Base, Republic of Korea, they will receive individual protective equipment from the 51st Logistic Readiness Squadron IPE unit.

In nuclear, biological and chemical warfare, IPE clothing and equipment are used to protect an individual from biological and chemical hazards and some nuclear effects. All mission essential personnel will receive their gear within the first 10-days upon arriving on station.

The mission of the IPE unit is to ensure that all essential personnel in-processing at Osan receives their chemical gear.

Each person will receive a training bag and real world bag. The training bag includes a canteen, web belt, personal carrier, training boots, training coat and trousers, gas mask, vest, plates, training gloves and inserts. The real world bag contains two pairs of coats and trousers, two pairs of boots, M8 paper, M9 tape, two gas mask filters, an M295 decontamination kit, and two pairs of gloves and inserts.

"I believe that it is essential that we have the equipment so that we are always prepared," said Capt. Keyanna Spears, 51st LRS vehicle management flight commander. "The way that the world is now, we never know when we will need to put it on."

During operational readiness exercises, service members will train with the equipment to prepare themselves for potential real world contingencies.

"Having trained with the equipment, it has helped prepare me to know what to wear and what to expect," Spears said. "The scenarios also put me in the mindset that this could happen at any time and we always need to be ready."

The IPE unit allows service members to be more equipped in case of an emergency.

"Training with the equipment helps Airmen support the overall mission because it allows us to be better prepared and more knowledgeable of what we are doing here at Osan," Johnson said.

That concludes our coverage of how different units and Airmen at Team Osan contribute to receiving forces. Next week we'll explore how Team Osan reinforces stability in the ROK. WE will look at how we strengthen stability in the ROK by showcasing how we maintain the quality of life on base and how Airmen stay sharp on loading weapons onto the aircraft.