ROK army ROTC cadets experience Osan from inside out

by Airman 1st Class Ashley J. Thum
51st Fighter Wing Public Affairs

10/27/2013 - OSAN AIR BASE, Republic of Korea -- Nearly 60 cadets from Sungshin University's Republic of Korea army Reserve Officers' Training Corps were welcomed here, Oct. 9, and given an in-depth look at how Osan works to fight and win.

The tour included stops at several units on base, and was part of an ongoing effort to build relationships between U.S. and ROK military personnel.

Pomi Mun, Sungshin University ROK army ROTC cadet, said she was amazed at all of the information presented to the cadets in such a short period of time.

"Even during just the morning session, I've already learned a lot," Mun said. "It was very meaningful to me to see and touch the actual fighter jets."

The presentations were made possible by various members of Team Osan, including 1st Lt. Clancy Morrical, 36th Fighter Squadron F-16 Fighting Falcon pilot, who said she enjoys sharing her experiences with younger people.

"It was great to have a group of female ROTC students from a ROK school who are interested in learning more about what we do here," Morrical said. "It gives you a renewed sense of pride in what you do and it rejuvenates the joy that I have in doing my job and reminds me why I do what I do."

Mun said her class has visited a Navy base, as well, and she hopes these tours will better prepare her for a career in the ROK armed forces.

"After I am commissioned, I will be working as an officer and there will be lots of joint operations for me to be involved in," Mun said. "This is really great, because we need to be able to get a sense of joint operations and the joint atmosphere."

Morrical said building relationships goes a long way to enhance that joint atmosphere.

"These are people that we're going to be working with in the next couple of years," Morrical said. "I think it's wonderful to integrate at the earliest time possible so we can start to build that bond, and so there's a friendship there and not just a working relationship."

From the 5th Reconnaissance Squadron to the 3rd Battlefield Coordination Detachment, and everything in between, the cadets now have a greater understanding of the help available to them from their American brothers and sisters-in-arms stationed at Osan.

Yi Kyung Hwyn, Sungshin University ROK army ROTC cadet, said having a partner is always reassuring.

"There's an old saying in Korean that goes `even a blank sheet of paper is better handled by two people," Hwyn said. "I think it will be easier for us to deter any North Korean aggression or offensive operations if we can conduct those operations with our U.S. friends."