KUNSAN AIR BASE, Republic of Korea — Airmen from the 8th Security Forces Squadron sharpened their skills in base defense and threat response during Beverly Pack 25-1, Jan. 12-16.
The exercise aimed to prepare the unit for any contingency scenario, responding to ground attacks and drone incursions at Kunsan Air Base as well as protecting assets during the 8th Fighter Wing’s largest scale agile combat employment deployment in its history.
“They’re ready to go,” said U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Edwing Mendoza, 8th SFS security forces evaluator. “If something were to happen, they have that combat readiness training in a high stress environment to reinforce their capabilities.”
Since the previous exercise, the 8th SFS has leveled up tactical execution through improved training and increased capabilities.
“Now, we do more training on information about our weapons and what to do when things go wrong, as well as getting certified on weapons like the M-2 machine gun, so we are more knowledgeable than before,” said Senior Airman Parker Farnham, 8th SFS patrolman.
Improved communication is another factor which enables efficiency and interoperability during emergency response.
“We’ve adjusted our approach to communication with other units along with our teamwork with [general arming] GENARM that has greatly benefited our response,” said Mendoza.
GERNARM is one of the Wolf Pack’s key assets in defending the base during a contingency. Members of the wing are assigned weapons and trained by security forces to protect the installation in coordination with other base agencies.
“It allows members to defend themselves and protect their area until security forces are able to respond and support,” said Farnham. “We lay out site defense plans and provide training and feedback to members to sharpen their skills, and exercises help maintain that knowledge to keep them ready.”
With these improvements in training and communication, Airmen are more confident now than ever in the wing’s ability to defend the base to enable sustained airpower generation.
“I’ve seen a lot of growth since the last exercise, and I feel like as a wing, we’re more capable and always ready to go,” said Farnham.
