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Korea · from 1951

Osan Air Base

United States Air Force - Korea Air Force base in Pyeongtaek, South Korea.

History

Osan Air Base (IATA: OSN, ICAO: RKSO) (K-55; Korean: 오산공군기지; Hanja: 烏山空軍基地) is a United States Air Force (USAF) and Republic of Korea Air Force (ROKAF) base located near Songtan station in the city of Pyeongtaek, South Korea, 64 km (40 mi) south of Seoul. Despite its name, Osan AB is not within Osan City, which is 7.5 km (4.7 mi) to the north. The base is the home of the headquarters for Seventh Air Force, Pacific Air Forces' 51st Fighter Wing, and a number of tenant units. The base is also the headquarters of the Republic of Korea Air Force (ROKAF) Operations Command. Osan Air Base is also the departure and arrival point for U.S. government-contracted "Patriot Express" flights bringing service members and their family members to South Korea from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport in the U.S. state of Washington, Misawa Air Base and Yokota Air Base in Japan.

As the most forward deployed permanently based wing in the Air Force, and equipped with A-10 Thunderbolt IIs and F-16 Fighting Falcons (about 48 aircraft), the 51st Fighter Wing is charged with executing combat operations, receiving follow-on forces and defending the base from attack. As the air component to United States Forces Korea and Combined Forces Command, 7th Air Force provides the command and control structures and personnel necessary to deliver precise, persistent, combined air and space power in defense of the Republic of Korea.

Osan Air Base is one of two major U.S. Air Force installations operated by U.S. Forces Korea, the other being Kunsan Air Base.

Text from Wikipedia: Osan Air Base, CC BY-SA 4.0, lightly trimmed.

Key dates

  1. 1952
    The 839th Aviation Engineer Battalion began construction of base support facilities and infrastructure early in 1952.
  2. 1956
    On September 18, 1956, the base was redesignated Osan AB, its current name.
  3. 1965
    Det 4, 36 ARS (MATS) became Det 9, Provisional Air Rescue Component (PARC) on 25 July 1965 and remained with this designator until 8 January 1966.
  4. 1968
    The North Korean seizure of the USS Pueblo on January 23, 1968, precipitated deployment of 1,000 Air Force personnel, on temporary duty status, to Osan AB in support of Operation Combat Fox.
  5. 1971
    On March 15, 1971, the 3rd Tactical Fighter Wing was activated at Kunsan AB. At Osan AB, PACAF activated the 51st Air Base Wing to assume host-unit responsibilities at Osan AB on November 1, 1971.
  6. 1978
    Establishment of the Combined Forces Command in 1978 further set the future of Osan AB. The evolving role of USAF's CFC mission in South Korea led to activation of Headquarters Seventh Air Force on September 8, 1986.
  7. 2002
    The result of this effort led to the landmark agreement known as the Land Partnership Plan in 2002 and the Security Policy Initiative in 2003 between the U.S. and the South Korean governments.
  8. 2012
    In 2012, a bronze bust of General James Van Fleet's son, James Van Fleet Jr., was erected to honor all US Airmen who died during the Korean War.
  9. 2015
    On May 28, 2015, the USAF said that as many as 22 people were inadvertently exposed to anthrax during a laboratory training exercise.

Dates and events quoted from the same Wikipedia article (CC BY-SA 4.0).

Records that place someone at this base

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