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PACAF units make the grade after ORI

April 25, 2003

By Senior Airman Harold Barnes III
Osan Air Base Public Affairs

Osan Air Base, Republic of Korea -- The 7th Air Force, 51st Fighter Wing and 8th Fighter Wing lived up to their core values by earning "Excellent" ratings on the Pacific Air Forces Operational Readiness Inspection that ended April 11.

"Ratings aside, wing personnel demonstrated exceptional mission focus and a sense of urgency throughout the inspection," read the PACAF Inspector General's report. "Individual performances indicated there are many aggressive training programs in place to meet the challenge of high personnel turnover, and unit morale remains strong despite the high OPTEMPO [operations tempo] associated with both exercise and real world demands."

The ORI was the largest inspection of its kind in the Air Force, as it was conducted simultaneously with two other ORIs in the Republic of Korea. The assessments were at Osan for the 51st FW, Kunsan Air Base for the 8th Fighter Wing and various locales for the 7th Air Force and its subordinate units.

"These inspections represent a recent shift in the PACAF commander's inspection policy away from separate initial response and combat employment inspections towards a single combined ORI," read the report.

"I would tell people they need to look at this ORI and come out of this with their heads held high and be awfully proud of who they are and what they know they can do," said Brig. Gen. William Holland, 51st FW commander. "I think they (Mustang Warriors) did well . I think our units proved they're ready."

The report also said, "Wing leadership at all levels was extremely effective and involved, reflecting Air Force core values and inspiring the exemplary performance observed."

The rating of "Excellent" encompassed the four major functional areas: Initial Response; Employment; Mission Support; and the Ability to Survive and Operate. These four major areas were also broken into smaller sub-groups to more closely indicate strengths and needed improvements. Courtesy of Pacific Air Forces News Service.