Photo By Tech. Sgt. Noah Tancer | U.S. and Republic of Korea air component leaders hold a combined operations meeting in...... read more read more
Freedom Shield 25 was held March 10 - 21, 2025, all across the Republic of Korea’s land, sky and surrounding seas.
In a rare integration of tactical and operational training, FS25 included full-scale rehearsals of almost all ROK-U.S. Alliance air component capabilities to increase interoperability and reinforce the ROK-U.S. combined defense posture.
“It ensures that units maintain a high state of preparedness, proficiency in mission execution, and the ability to be in the fight tonight,” said Master Sgt. Joseph Ryan Bonita, 8th Fighter Wing superintendent of Wing Inspections.
For the live-fly training, both Seventh Air Force and ROK Air Force Operations Command executed agile combat employment movements, deploying fighter aircraft units to conduct flying operations from alternate locations around the theater.
Together, the two nations generated approximately 1,000 combat training sorties in a five-day period, while only using just over 35 percent of the total combat airpower available. The training integrated fourth and fifth generation fighter aircraft, as well as Navy and Marine aviation assets, into the rehearsal to ensure a broad range of capabilities were tested and reinforced.
The training focused on realistic threat scenarios requiring complex planning, coordination and execution across the combined force.
“FS25 gave us the chance to work on our crisis management policies in a very intimate workplace with our ROK counterparts,” said Maj. Kyle James, a Seventh Air Force augmentee in FS25’s battle staff. “What we gave back to FS25 was combined joint integrated air support and air power.”
The flying training could not have occurred without the full support of both the 51st and 8th Fighter Wing, the 607th Air Operations Center, the 607th Air Support Operations Group, units from the 694th Intelligence Surveillance and Reconnaissance Group, and multiple organizations across the Republic of Korea Air Force and joint partners in the U.S. Army, U.S. Marines, U.S. Navy, and U.S. Space Force.
Logistics, manpower, maintenance, and munitions assets and personnel in particular played a critical role in ensuring Seventh Air Force remains trained and equipped to meet any threat, in combination with its ROK allies. They supported the movement and bed-down of hundreds of personnel and dozens of aircraft across the Korean theater of operations, along with the necessary equipment and supplies, while ROKAF provided the majority of the aerial refueling support.
“Freedom Shield demonstrated we have the combat airpower, the logistics, the mobility, and the defensive systems, and the will to crush any attack, sustain combat operations over the long run, and if necessary, defeat any adversary,” said Lt. Gen. David Iverson, U.S. Forces Korea deputy commander, and commander of Seventh Air Force and Combined Air Component Command.
All of which, and more, followed in lockstep with Freedom Shield 25’s role as one of the largest training events between the U.S. and ROK, which enhances combined, joint all-domain readiness and strengthens the security and stability on the Korean peninsula and across Northeast Asia.
| Date Taken: | 03.21.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 03.24.2025 23:06 |
| Story ID: | 493410 |
| Location: | OSAN AIR BASE, GYEONGGIDO [KYONGGI-DO], KR |
| Web Views: | 99 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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