8 OG, 8 MXG double time Beverly Midnight 23-1 training event at Osan AB

OSAN AIR BASE, Republic of Korea -- Units from the 8th Fighter Wing, Kunsan Air Base, Republic of Korea, participated in the Beverly Midnight 23-1 training event alongside the 51st Fighter Wing at Osan AB, ROK, May 4-12.

This was the first in a regular series of training events that occur year-round at the installation. Since the runway closure at Kunsan AB on Apr. 1, the 8 FW has conducted flying operations out of Osan AB. This has enabled many side-by-side training opportunities between the two 7th Air Force wings.

Beverly Midnight 23-1 focused specifically on the execution of flying operations. F-16 Fighting Falcons from both the 35th and 80th Fighter Squadrons conducted sorties alongside F-16s and A-10 Thunderbolt IIs from the 51 FW’s 25th and 36th Fighter Squadrons, respectively.

The specific training objective for the 8 FW was to test their ability to double turn; flying twice in a 24-hour period, which lead to long days of mission planning and preparation for the pilots and an increased maintenance and aircraft generation tempo for the 8th Maintenance Squadron and the 35th and 80th Fighter Generation Squadrons.

Routine training events like Beverly Midnight 23-1 help the 8 FW maintain the level of readiness required to accomplish the ‘Fight Tonight’ mission and are an opportunity to practice contingency response, evaluate performance and sharpen critical skills.