OSAN AIR BASE, Republic of Korea –
More than 75 members of the 701st Combat Operations Squadron, March Air Reserve Base, Calif., began week two of exercise Ulchi Freedom Guardian, Aug. 26, at Osan Air Base, Republic of Korea.
UFG is an annual defense-oriented exercise developed around scenarios designed to defend the Republic of Korea, protect the region, and maintain stability on the peninsula.
Established in 1995, the one-of-a-kind 701 COS supports 7th Air Force, the U.S. Air Force component to the United States and Republic of Korea Combined Forces Command's Air Component Command for exercises such as UFG and Key Resolve.
Maj. Eric Chancellor, 701 COS Logisitics Readiness Officer, has been with the squadron for seven years and understands the worldwide impact of their mission.
"All of our training is designed to support exercises such as Key Resolve and UFG," said Chancellor. This is our mission, to support the AOC mission for 7 AF and the Korean Peninsula. We come here, we train, and we take it seriously."
During UFG, the 701st augments the Air Operations Center's five divisions: Strategy, Plans, Intelligence, Operations and Air Mobility. These divisions come together to support one primary goal, creating and executing Air Tasking Orders.
Every day, once the ATO is finalized, it is funneled down to airmen from different specialties working alongside their ROK counterparts in the Hardened Tactical Air Control Center, commonly referred to as the "war room."
Maj. Malia Sharkey, 701st Combat Airspace Management, and Capt. Juan Benavides, 607th Air Operations Center, along with their ROK counterpart, use the ATO as a guide to monitor airborne assets during the exercise.
"Our job is to monitor the airspace on the Korean Peninsula and all coalition missions being flown in the theater," said Sharkey. "We work closely with the ROK so they see what we see and vice versa."
"During the exercise, it's important that we are working together and learning from the South Koreans, as well as them learning from us," Chancellor explained. "We work hand in hand with our South Korean counterparts with the goal of helping them understand how we do business and improving their processes."
Majors Chancellor and Sharkey are two of more than 3,000 augmentees from the U.S. and bases in the Pacific region participating in UFG, along with military forces from seven United Nation's Command-sending states that include Canada, Australia and the United Kingdom.
Working in a joint and combined environment is just one way the 701st sets itself apart from other Reserve squadrons.
Augmenting an AOC mission requires the 701st to behave like a wing within itself with representatives from over 60 Air Force Specialty Codes represented.
"We are unique, we're diverse, and I think that helps us do our mission," Chancellor said. "Many sections are one or two people deep, so we rely on each other to get the job done."