PYEONGTAEK, South Korea — The 8th Fighter Wing at Kunsan Air Base plans a one-day training exercise Monday to drill airmen in proper methods for passing battle-damage information to their top leaders and for passing on the leaders’ orders about what to do next.
The wing, also known as the Wolf Pack, calls the exercise a “Wolf War Day.”
Among Monday’s scheduled mock-warfare scenarios are those in which the base is hit by mortar fire, a chemical-weapons attack and assault by ground troops, said Capt. Benjamin Wolf, the wing’s chief of inspections and exercises.
Airmen will have to follow the wing’s established methods for assessing post-attack conditions that could include, for example, dead and wounded, damaged buildings and equipment and possible chemical contamination.
They’ll also get a workout in how to relay correctly the wing leadership’s orders on what to do in the face of such battle damage, Wolf said.
“It’s the good old two-way communication,” said wing spokesman Master Sgt. Anthony Davis, who is on the team that will evaluate the wing’s performance during the exercise.
While reporting methods are the same throughout the Air Force, each base may alter them to some degree to fit its unique circumstances.
“Every base has their own ‘quirks,’” Wolf said. “Having this training … provides an exercise for people who are familiar with Kunsan to pass those on to people coming in.
“We’ve got a lot of new people on base so we just want to be sure that everyone understands” the proper procedures, he said.
Wing personnel will train in “full gear” and facilities will take part as though in actual contingency or war, Wolf said.
The wing’s exercise evaluation team will watch the training unfold, offer on-the-spot instruction when warranted and provide wing leadership with a written after-action report.
Wolf said the training has two chief benefits: “On a tactical level … they will be that much more skilled in performing those processes both quickly and accurately.
“In a broader sense,” he said, “it helps improve the confidence of the Wolf Pack personnel (that) they know what to do and they know that they are doing it properly.”
