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Military leaders discuss operations during Pacific region air boss conference

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Stefanie Torres
  • 51st Fighter Wing Public Affairs
Military leaders from the U.S. and the Republic of Korea gathered here June 13-14 to discuss strategic airpower in the Pacific region.

"The Air Boss Conference is an annual conference that's hosted by the [Air Component Command commander]," said Col. James McGovern, 607th Air and Space Operations Center commander. "It's a bi-lateral get together between Republic of Korea and U.S. forces under the combined forces aegis here on the peninsula."

This conference plays a vital role in bringing together commanders from both on and off the peninsula, he said. Each of these commanders could send forces to support a potential crisis or conflict here.

"Having them all together to discuss current issues with regards to operational plans and the assumptions we have as we go working together are very important," McGovern said.

Lieutenant General Jan-Marc Jouas, Air Component Command commander, and Korean Air Force Lt. Gen. Park Sin-Gyu, the ROK Air Force Operations Command commander, led the conference and provided opening remarks.

"This is truly a great team we have here," Jouas said. "You can take a look around the room and see there are a lot of people who were here before (last year) and some that weren't. But this is about building this team in 2012."

The most important part of coming together, according to Park, is the team work. The personal relationships that are built during the conference can determine the success of the mission.

"We are happy to be working side-by-side again," Park said.

General Jouas said this conference affords the opportunity for other leaders around the world to bring their expertise to the table, learn from each other, and take advantage of a forum such as this to further integrate all organizations into a seamless team.

"As we say in Korea, 'katchi kapshi da' (We go together)," he said. "I am deeply appreciative that you all get to spend the next few days with us. Let's make the most of it."

(7th Air Force Public Affairs contributed to this article)