Total Force Vipers Soar over South Korea

A team of active duty and Reserve airmen from Hill AFB, Utah, is achieving impressive stats during its 180-day deployment to South Korea, according to members of this group. F-16 pilots and maintainers from the active duty 388th Fighter Wing and Air Force Reserve Command’s 419th FW left Hill for Kunsan Air Base in September as part of a theater security package to augment the F-16s of Kunsan’s own 8th FW. During their first 70 days on the peninsula, the Hill airmen and their 12 F-16s flew 492 sorties—amassing 650 flight hours—and participated in two operational readiness exercises and one large-scale joint force employment exercise. “We demonstrated what’s possible when leveraging all the resources of our associated wings,” said Lt. Col. Tyler Otten, a Reservist who commanded Hill’s contingent, the 466th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron, for the initial phase of this deployment. The Hill team is splitting the time at Kunsan so that both active duty and Reserve personnel will have the opportunity to hold leadership positions. (Hill report by Kari Tilton)