AMC en-route locations: As Korea moves, so does Osan's air mobility squadron

Published Dec. 15, 2009
By Tech. Sgt. Sheri Kangas
51st Fighter Wing Public Affairs

OSAN AIR BASE, Republic of Korea -- The 731st Air Mobility Squadron has an important role to fill at Osan Air Base and nothing is going to stop these hard chargers from completing their mission.

"Our squadron never sleeps," said Col. David "JC" Penny, 731st AMS commander. "We execute hundreds of real-world missions every day and we don't let up for exercises, weekends, holidays or any other day." Colonel Penny added that the squadron moves more tonnage per person faster than any other aerial port in the Pacific.

Transportation provides what is known as 'time and place utility.' "Without it, the mission fails," Colonel Penny said. "Being able to move cargo and people to anywhere in the world at only a few moments notice is perhaps one of the most important functions of the Air Force today." Colonel Penny went on to say that maintaining aerial ports throughout the world accelerates the process and allows for a flexibility unrivaled in any other Air Force.

The 731st AMS is responsible for all Department of Defense aircraft transporting personnel and cargo to and from the entire Korean peninsula. All air cargo coming to any U.S. military base peninsula-wide first goes through their squadron. Shipments include everything from household goods to Apache helicopters and mini-subs. "That's just our baseline," Colonel Penny said. "We also support inter-theater medical evacuations, distinguished visitor movements, and surge in contingency to manage Air Force and Army reinforcements if required."

The squadron is a blend of several different career fields with 110 Air Force members and 43 Korean Nationals. "The majority of our squadron consists of aerial porters, or 2T2's," said Maj. Travis Brownlow, 731st AMS director of operations.

Members of this multi-functional career field are capable of performing many of the duties integral to the 731st AMS, ranging from servicing all mobility aircraft on base by operating a number of different pieces of material handling equipment such as cargo loaders, forklifts, and fleet service trucks to managing all passenger movements to and from Osan.

In addition to the aerial porters, the squadron has Air Mobility Command Center controllers, maintainers, logistics readiness officers, computer operations specialists and a couple of pilots. "We maintain five primary buildings around Osan and even manage two remote operating locations on the Korean peninsula," Major Brownlow said. They are located in Gunsan and Gimhae.

The squadron has recently assisted in several missions, most importantly President Barack Obama's first visit to Osan and the Republic of South Korea. "Our squadron played a tremendous role in his visit, from servicing Air Force One itself to ensuring the successful download and upload of his presidential motorcade and two presidential helicopters," said 1st Lt. Dan Morris, Aerial Port Operations Center officer in charge. "The 731st AMS worked 15 missions with 750 tons of equipment and over 300 people in support of his two-day visit."

As long as the United States maintains a presence in the Republic of Korea, the 731st AMS will continue to support the movement of personnel and cargo throughout the peninsula. "At the moment we are in the process of building a new, ROK-funded, state-of-the-art passenger terminal that will ensure smooth and efficient movement of DoD personnel for years to come," Colonel Penny said.