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Airmen from the 51st Fighter Wing trained alongside Republic of Korea Air Force counterparts during Buddy Squadron 26-3 at Jungwon Air Base from July 13 to 16, reinforcing combined air operations and the U.S.-ROK alliance.
The four-day exchange brought together pilots, maintainers and support personnel from both nations to refine tactics, techniques and procedures while strengthening professional relationships essential to joint operations. This iteration centered on air-to-air training aimed at boosting combined readiness and ensuring the two air forces can operate seamlessly together.
“Our primary goals were interoperability, relationship building and improving how we operate together,” said U.S. Air Force Maj. Matthew Van Velzer, 36th Fighter Squadron assistant director of operations. “If we are going to execute the defense of the Korean Peninsula, it will be as a coalition. It’s important that we train together so we can speak the same language when it comes to tactics and operations.”
With six F-16 Fighting Falcons deploying from Osan Air Base, the mission required extensive coordination across operations, maintenance and support teams to sustain flying away from home station. “There’s a significant personal and operational cost to taking aircraft off station,” stated Van Velzer. “Our maintenance, operations and support teams carried much of that burden to ensure the mission was successful.”
Van Velzer also highlighted the role of ROKAF’s 161st Fighter Squadron in facilitating the training. “They were incredible hosts,” expressed Van Velzer. “They were excellent to work with and did everything they could to make sure flying operations went as smoothly as possible despite language barriers.”
Exercises like Buddy Squadron are designed to advance interoperability through realistic, integrated training, improving the combined ability to respond to future contingencies while reinforcing the longstanding U.S.-ROK alliance and maintaining high readiness.
