AFGSC Commander, Wolf 42 returns to the Pack

  • Published
  • By 2nd Lt. Brittany Curry
  • 8th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
KUNSAN AIR BASE, Republic of Korea --  During a three-day visit to Kunsan, Air Force Global Strike Command Commander Gen. Robin Rand and 8th Air Force Commander Maj. Gen. Thomas Bussiere saw first-hand the current mission capabilities of the Wolf Pack and its Airmen.

Rand, a former 8th Fighter Wing commander affectionately known as Wolf 42, reconnected with the base and the mission through visits with Airmen, base leadership, demonstrations displaying current capabilities and a flight in an F-16.

Rand started the visit by meeting with the current Wolf Pack class during an all call, where he thanked Airmen for their dedication toward ensuring deterrence to threats and support to the Korean peninsula. He also spoke to the important roles that AFGSC and the Wolf Pack play in supporting one another.

“You are the difference between the world spinning off its axis or not,” Rand said. “Airmen, you are it…And we are your Wingmen.”

Overall, Rand thanked them for their unwavering service to the military and encouraged them to understand the heritage of those that came before them, tying in the heritage of not only the Wolf Pack, but the U.S. Air Force as whole.

“You are making a difference,” Rand said to a theater full of Wolf Pack Airmen.

As part of the visit, Rand and Bussiere also viewed the base defense component of the mission through a security forces demonstration, riding in a High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle, witnessing a K-9 demonstration and firing of blank rounds out of a .50 caliber machine gun.

Defending the base is the first of the Wolf Pack’s three-part mission. By experiencing the demonstration Rand was able to witness current mission capabilities of the Defenders and how they enable the base’s second and third mission components of accepting follow-on forces and taking the fight north.

In order to embrace the mission of taking the fight north, Rand and Bussiere took to the skies.

As an F-16 pilot with more than 470 combat hours, and Wolf 42, it wouldn’t have been a visit to the Wolf Pack without the chance to take hold of the opportunity. Rand was able to run with the pack once more in an F-16 D model led by the 80th Fighter Squadron.

During his time at Kunsan, Rand was able share memories and lessons learned throughout his career. Of those memories, a few seemed to come full circle in more ways than one. His flight was within the cockpit of an aircraft flying the tail flash of the 36th Fighter Squadron from Osan Air Base, Republic of Korea—a former command of Rand’s.

Rand left the Airmen of the Pack with one final charge to understand those who came before and the importance that heritage and history play in not only the Wolf Pack, but the U.S. Air Force as a whole.

”History will make us smarter, heritage will make us prouder,” Rand said. “You are writing history. Are you ready?”