Wolf Pack's championship moment!

  • Published
  • By Maj Nate Ards
  • 8th Communications Squadron commander
KUNSAN AIR BASE, Republic of Korea --  This is our championship moment. If the Wolf Pack was a sports team, we'd be described as extremely fast, strong and incredibly agile ... and resilient.

With an Operational Readiness Inspection only days away, we're reaching peak performance just at the right time.

Whatever role you play on our Wolf Pack team, this is truly the moment you should pay special attention to. Events currently unfolding in the Wolf Pack will cause you to bookmark this assignment for many years ... or even decades to come. No matter where you are in your career, your assignment here should serve as the standard setter for your future professional and personal growth. You're amongst professional warriors, comrades in arms. You are our nation's treasure. Together, we've reached a pivotal point in the history of the 8th Fighter Wing. Our moment has arrived, Wolf Pack!

The seasoned veterans on our team, Airmen of all ranks, officer and enlisted, from airman to colonel, have been at the heart of key mission enhancements in shops and work centers that span the breadth of Kunsan Air Base. We've amassed countless process efficiencies and driven out the kind of waste that a budget-constrained Air Force and wing can ill afford to tolerate. Consequently, we've maximized mission capability and combat firepower that has been legendary in the Wolf Pack for decades. While we have the baton securely in our hands, we must demonstrate how ready we are to perform the mission under the ever watchful eye of major command inspectors.

There are no more exercises ahead of us before the ORI. There's only the tunnel to walk through and take the field. Our exercises have made the Wolf Pack more lethal for combat, enhanced our ability to generate and maintain fighter aircraft, significantly increased our ability to survive and operate through the enemy's kinetic and non-kinetic (cyber) attacks, increased our effectiveness in applying self-aid and buddy care, and honed our ability to conduct timely evacuations of civilians and children. While we all recognize that our operations tempo has been a force to be reckoned with, we know that we are resilient! As a team we've repeatedly shown our fortitude and will to fight through tough times. We are true Wingmen. We anxiously await our moment to fight what we see during this scheduled ORI.

Nearly four months ago in November 2010, just days before Thanksgiving, the Pacific Air Forces Inspector General paid the Wolf Pack a no-notice visit. It was our moment to go through a no-notice Phase I ORI. In an instant it really was time for the Wolf Pack to "fight tonight." When the smoke cleared from that no-notice inspection and the PACAF IG was heading home, the Wolf Pack had accomplished a rarely-achieved "Outstanding" rating. This was a total team effort across the Wolf Pack.

We rallied as a single unit. Our wing's preparedness crossed paths with an opportunity that came in the form of a no-notice inspection. This outstanding rating was not a chance occurrence or serendipity. It was truly earned. The Wolf Pack defends the base, accepts follow-on forces, and takes the fight north as professional warriors. It's who we are.

It won't be long before inspectors return to the Wolf Pack for Phase II of our ORI. It's time to rally again, Wolf Pack. We've been here before and succeeded beyond measure. The first week of April will be more history in the making for all of us proud members of the Wolf Pack. Make sure you give all you've got. This really is our championship moment.