F-16 Fighting Falcon News

February 13, 2015 (by Anthony Cornelius) - The skies around Buckley Air Force Base will be a lot quieter in the coming months. Airmen and Aircraft from the 140th Wing Colorado Air National Guard took off Tuesday and Thursday for the Republic of Korea with their F-16C Fighting Falcon aircraft.
While in Korea, the 140th Wing will integrate with other U.S. Air Force assets, conducting regular training missions with their F-16C in support of the United States continual commitment to stability and security in the Asian theater. In addition to valuable training, members of the 120th Fighter Squadron (FS) will have the opportunity to train alongside allied and strengthen ties with allies.

The 120th FS is a dual-purpose fighter squadron with pilots qualified to perform air-to-air and air-to-ground missions, including offensive counter-air (OCA), defensive counter-air (DCA), OCA interdiction, close air support (CAS), and combat search and rescue (CSAR) missions.

"We are sending several of our jets and associated pilots, maintenance and support personnel as part of a routine theater security package to the Republic of Korea," said Col. Floyd Dunstan, commander of the 140th Wing. "Not only are we gaining valuable training out of this deployment, we are also strengthening ties with our allies and fortifying our relationships with international partners."

All of the deploying members have volunteered to go to Korea. Even though most of the 140th wing will be deployed in Korea, a large number of airmen and aircraft will remain at Buckley to support the 24-hour Aerospace Control Alert mission, responding at a moment’s notice to any airborne threats in the central United States.

The jets were scheduled to make a brief stop in Hawaii before continuing onto South Korea.