Air Force Col. Ryan Ley gives his first speech as head of the 51st Fighter Wing during a change-of-command ceremony at Osan Air Base, South Korea, June 27, 2025. (Trevares Johnson/Stars and Stripes)
OSAN AIR BASE, South Korea – A fighter pilot with more than 400 combat flight hours assumed command of the U.S. fighter wing closest to North Korea in a ceremony at this base Friday.
Air Force Col. Ryan Ley, an F-16 Fighting Falcon pilot, took charge of the 51st Fighter Wing from Col. William McKibban in front of roughly 250 airmen inside a hangar at Osan, roughly 30 miles from Seoul.
Ley was previously the deputy commander of the 52nd Fighter Wing at Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany. Prior to that, he was the chief of Combat Air Forces Division at the Directorate of Training and Readiness at the Air Force headquarters in the Pentagon.
Ley graduated in 1999 from Colorado State University with a degree in chemical engineering. He was a distinguished graduate of Officer Training School in Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala., and of specialized pilot training in Columbus Air Force Base, Miss., according to his Air Force biography.
He flew in support of the 2011 NATO mission in Libya and after 9/11 over North America and Afghanistan, his biography states.
Air Force Lt. Gen. David Iverson, deputy commander of U.S. Forces Korea, left, stands alongside outgoing 51st Fighter Wing commander Col. William McKibban, center, and incoming commander Col. Ryan Ley at Osan Air Base, South Korea, June 27, 2025. (Trevares Johnson/Stars and Stripes)
McKibban, an F-16 and A-10 Thunderbolt II pilot, commanded the wing from June 20, 2023. He goes next to Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, to become executive officer at Pacific Air Forces, wing spokesman Maj. Kippun Sumner said by email Thursday.
The airmen of the 51st Fighter Wing will continue to “carry on that proud tradition” of maintaining combat readiness on the Korean Peninsula, McKibban said in a speech at the ceremony.
The wing’s origins date to 1941 as the 51st Pursuit Group based in Sacramento, Calif., according to the Air Force’s website. It became one of the first fighter groups to see combat in World War II and later shot down 312 MiG-15s during the 1950-53 Korean War.
“In this assignment of purpose, they prepare, exercise, iterate and repeat over and over again,” McKibban added. “Because that’s what it means to say you’re ready to fight tonight.”
The wing is responsible for defending Osan and its approximately 5,500 U.S. service members. Sumner declined to disclose the number of personnel assigned to the wing, citing operational security.
McKibban helped oversee the creation of the 7th Air Force’s Super Squadron – 31 F-16s consolidated at Osan to improve combat readiness.
A second Super Squadron is expected to be stood up around October, according to the 7th Air Force.
The 51st also took part in numerous drills with South Korean forces, such as the 20-day combined arms live fire exercise in March and the large-scale, 11-day Freedom Shield drill that month.
Seventh Air Force commander Lt. Gen. David Iverson thanked McKibban for his service and said the wing “has significantly enhanced combat readiness and lethality while playing an indispensable role in deterring our adversaries.”
“The lasting impact you’ve made on the 51st Fighter Wing will resonate for many years to come,” he said in a speech.
Units display their guidons during a change-of-command ceremony for the 51st Fighter Wing at Osan Air Base, South Korea, June 27, 2025. (Trevares Johnson/Stars and Stripes)
