In recent months, tensions have been running high in the Pacific theater. The US Air Force’s 8th Fighter Wing, the famous ‘Wolf Pack’, stands at the forefront of operations in the region.
UNIT REPORT // 8thFIGHTER WING
THE IRON-CLAD ALLIANCE between the US and the Republic of Korea is evident in everything we do, says Col David Shoemaker, the 8th Fighter Wing commander — a role that earns him the nickname ‘the Wolf’. Shoemaker presides over one of the most important wings in the US Air Force, equipped with a pair of elite fighter squadrons flying Block 40 F-16CMs at Kunsan Air Base. The 35th and 80th Fighter Squadrons of the ‘Wolf Pack’ regularly fly closer to the North Korean border than any other unit — fitting for a wing that was once led by the legendary Col Robin Olds, who first coined the ‘Wolf Pack’ nickname for his aggressive, hungry, young F-4 aviators in Vietnam. From Thailand, the wing moved to Kunsan in September 1974. Located about 120 miles south of Seoul, Kunsan was originally constructed by the Japanese in 1938 and was used on a limited basis by the US between 1945 and 1949 when American forces left South Korea. In July 1950, soon after the Korean War started, the base was occupied by…
