Family members experience life at Kunsan

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Amanda Savannah
  • 8th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
KUNSAN AIR BASE, Republic of Korea --  Family members visiting Airmen for the holidays were treated to a glimpse of life at the 8th Fighter Wing and the local community during Wolf Pack Family Days tour Dec. 27 and 28.

The 8th Security Forces Squadron spearheaded the family day tour, which was held to show visiting families the mission at Kunsan and Korean culture.

"We knew a lot of people from the Wolf Pack had family coming to visit, and we wanted to make sure they could see what makes Kunsan such a special place to work," said Lt. Col. Mark Anarumo, 8th SFS commander. "We thought it would be a very fun event for the families, and to make them feel better about where their parents and spouses are while they're away."

During the two days, approximately 48 Wolf Pack members, spouses and children had their faces painted, checked out static displays, tried on chemical protection gear, viewed military working dog and weapons demonstrations, and toured various sites in Gunsan City.

Aubrey Moffat and her children Jameson, 3, and Savannah, 5, were visiting Capt. Josh Moffat, 35th Fighter Squadron pilot, for the holidays and participated in the events.

"This was really fun," she said. "We got on the bus after seeing the dogs and the fire truck and everything, and Jameson said, 'This is the best day ever!'"

"My favorite part was the attack dogs, they were fighting the bad guys," Savannah said.

Rose Hubbard and her children, Leighna, 18; Alec; 16; and Bryan, 10; were also among the family members visiting the Wolf Pack and participating in the family days. The Hubbards were visiting their husband and father, Lt. Col. Richard Hubbard, 8th Mission Support Group vice commander.

"This has been great!" said Leighna. "I liked interacting with the dogs, and the weapons simulators. The whole event has been interactive for all ages."

"The simulator was the best!" Bryan chimed in.

Mrs. Hubbard agreed, but also liked the family interaction.

"This was great," she said. "I think it gets the families together again. We got to reconnect, not just with our spouses but other families that are also in the same situation that we are all in. It's a new perspective of the Air Force."

Colonel Hubbard enjoyed the opportunity to show his family a little of his life at Kunsan and in the Air Force.

"It's been great taking care of the family while they were here," he said. "Also, the best thing about it is it gives them an understanding of what we go through, not like when we talk over the phone, or Skype or whatever, and we can only tell them about things that we're engaged in. Here they get to see what we do. This has been a very enjoyable event."

Representatives from several squadrons at Kunsan were present to make the event a success, such as the 8th Operations Group's 35th and 80th Fighter Squadrons; individual protective equipment section of the 8th Logistics Readiness Squadron; the 8th Maintenance Squadron's 8th Munitions Flight; the ambulance services section of the 8th Medical Operations Squadron, the 8th Civil Engineer Squadron's fire protection flight; and several sections of the 8th SFS. Colonel Anarumo said he thanked everyone who supported the event and said it could not have happened without the Wolf Pack's teamwork.

"I think it went extremely well; the families were very well entertained," Colonel Anarumo said. "I'd like to thank everyone for supporting. We had a lot of agencies that helped out with pulling this event off. Security forces took the lead, but we couldn't have done this without everyone else chipping in."