KUNSAN AIR BASE, Republic of Korea – U.S. Air Force Lt. Gen. Ken Wilsbach, 7th Air Force commander and Chief Master Sgt. Philip Hudson, 7th Air Force command chief, visited Kunsan Air Base to gain insight on the preventive measures the Wolf Pack has implemented for COVID-19, March 25-27.
Wilsbach and Hudson were introduced to the Kunsan COVID-19 Working Group, which consists of Emergency Management, Public Health, Command Post, Sustainment Services Flight, Installation Management Flight, Public Affairs and the Director of Staff. Representatives from several units briefed on behalf of the working group to explain how the base works together to protect the Wolf Pack against COVID-19 while maintaining mission readiness. Additionally, the Kunsan Airman Resilience Team, Airmen Dorm Leaders, and Chaplains also showed Wilsbach and Hudson how they continue to care for the entire team, to include airmen with restricted movement or placed in quarantine.
“This is a perfect example of finding talent…It’s phenomenal proof that one person can’t do everything and one person doesn’t have the answer, it takes a team,” said U.S. Air Force Col. Tad Clark, 8th Fighter Wing commander. “The innovative spirit is just an illustration of how the team is pulling together ideas with cross-talk, spreadsheets, strategic messaging, and communicating… and I think the only thing left for us to do, is to continue caring for one another.”
Wilsbach and Hudson also learned about the precautions the 8th Medical Group is taking with increased screening and entry procedures for the main gate and clinic, the restricted movement and quarantine program, and the clinic’s screening tent.
They ended their visit at the fitness center where they walked through disinfecting stations, two-meter spacing procedure and how the 8th Force Support Squadron is enforcing precautionary measures in order for Airmen to continue to maintain their physical readiness and work out safely.
“Today, we went through the fitness center to highlight the things that we have done to prevent the spread of COVID-19, such as having extra cleaning, social distancing signs and marking off some of the equipment,” said Staff Sgt. Chelsea Lawson, 8th FSS fitness assessment cell NCO in charge. “We are taking many precautionary measures. We are one of the few gyms in the Air Force that has remained open, and we are doing everything we can to keep it that way.”
Overall, Wilsbach and Hudson got a first-hand look at the diverse and abundant set of precautionary measures each facility has put in place to preserve the resiliency and wellbeing of our Airmen.
“The Air Force keeps leading the way with innovation. We recruit free thinkers and we retain free thinkers because we encourage exactly what you’ve done, which is ‘we’ve got a problem set, apply a procedure, ‘tweak’ it, innovate and make it better.’ We encourage all Airmen to continue to innovate,” said Wilsbach.
