First South Korean mission commander for Red Flag-Alaska

Maj. Seo Jae-kyong has become the first South Korean pilot to lead a multinational team as a mission commander during Exercise Red Flag-Alaska, a field training exercise held last month, according to the Air Force.Seven countries participated in the annual exercise, held by the U.S. Pacific Air Forces. They were the United Kingdom, Thailand, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and Korea.

"At first, I thought that I would be able to perform the duty because I could speak English," said Seo, an F-16 pilot instructor of the 19th Fighter Wing.Seo's mission was to lead a strike force that included fighter jets, electronic warfare and airborne early warning and control aircraft, and aerial refueling tankers.

"However, while preparing for the mission, I faced growing pressure because Exercise Red Flag is one of the largest most comprehensive exercises in the world," said the 37-year-old, who has flown more than 1,260 hours."No one from the Korean Air Force has taken command of the exercise before, so I had to brace myself for the challenge."This was Korea's third year participating in the annual exercise. The Korean Air Force's F-15K combat jets joined the multi-platform coordinated drill in 2013 and KF-16 fighters took part in 2014.

Exercise Red Flag provides a simulated combat environment, where each country's pilots tests their skills.Seo said that Korean pilots did not fall behind the others."Korean pilots earned high marks for their flight skills and operational understanding, thanks to frequent joint exercises with the U.S. Air Force," he said."We performed some missions that were hardly thinkable with the other pilots."
However, Seo said there is room for improvement because the Korean Air Force has never participated in actual combat.

The Air Force major also said that he was impressed by the U.S. pilots' debriefing about their sorties.
Korea has purchased advanced aircraft to increase the Air Force's capabilities amid growing threats from North Korea.Seo stressed that training outstanding pilots is more important than procuring aircraft."Training pilots to learn strategic capability takes more time than purchasing aircraft. Although the planes are important, now we need to focus more on training the pilots who will fly them," he said.Seo hopes that his experience as a mission commander at Exercise Red Flag will pave the way for other Korean Air Force pilots to follow in his footsteps.

"More than just an individual honor, the duty was an important step forward for the Korean Air Force," he said."Leading the allies' strike package means acquiring the U.S. and allied forces' strategies and tactics and developing the ability to lead them."Pilots with this experience should be continually trained and I will do my best to teach my fellow pilots with my experience and know-how."