air force korea assignment

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Assignment Incentive Pay (AIP)

Assignment Incentive Military Pay is the military's preferred way to compensate troops from all services. Assignment Incentive Military Pay is often paid to service members for unusual assignment circumstances.

Those service members who have involuntarily extended their tours in Iraq and Kuwait combat zones receive an additional $200 in hardship duty pay and another $800 in assignment incentive pay for a total of an extra $1000 a month. Those service members in certain skills who have served 12 months Iraq and Afghanistan and volunteer to agree to extend their tours receive this assignment incentive military pay.

They receive additional pay for extensions including $900 per month for a 12 month extension, $600 a month for a 6 month extension and $300 a month for a three month extension. Service members with critical intelligence skills will receive up to $1000 a month for each month's extension. Service members in other areas such as South Korea may also receive Assignment Incentive Military Pay for extensions of their tours.

The Assignment Incentive Military Pay Program has become extremely popular and is the military's preferred way to compensate troops from all of the services for certain unusual and extended assignments. The pay cap was increased to $3000 a month Assignment Incentive Military Pay is taxable unless in a combat zone.

KOREA & TURKEY OUTPROCESSING CHECKLIST

To get orders: .

• Obtained within 30 days/contact your CSS to initiate
• Medical Clearance Memo and AF Form 422 (if applicable)
• Complete and email to [email protected]
• Dental Clearance Memo Complete and email to [email protected]
• Immunizations Clearance Memo Complete and email to [email protected]
• Security Clearance Memo
• DD Form 1172 – Ensure dependents are updated first From MPF Customer Service or milConnect using these instructions /email to [email protected]  
• AF Form 63 or Statement of Understanding Applies to officers and enlisted members eligible for retirement
• AF Form 4380 – Dependent Medical Screening Form must be completed and emailed to [email protected]  
• AF Form 1466 – EFMP/Dependent Medical and Education Clearance This will be instructed and directed by MDG
• AF Form 965 – Overseas Dependent Election Statement Complete and email to [email protected]
• AF Form 286 – Only for going from non-PRP to PRP position This will be provided to the MPF by the Wing PRAP Monitor
• Commander Signed Assignment Notification RIP – 3P0X1/31PX only This will be provided to the MPF by the unit AUoF Monitor
• PPCs – 999, PAG, 9NC, CAA, SAV, 9IZ Contact your MPF assignment technician at [email protected]
• Follow On Assignment or Declination Apply through vMPF
• Retainability for Follow On Assignment Obtained within 30 days/contact your CSS to initiate
• ALS Memo for SrA w/48 months Time In Service

To Final Outprocess:

• Current SGLI or SOES printout Obtained from milConnect using these instructions
• Fitness history Must be current through the RNLTD plus 42 days
• Narrative Only PRF – Officers only
• Passports/VISAs (if applicable) Must be initiated within 30 days of assignment notification. Contact MPF Passport Agent at [email protected]
• Concurrent Travel Approval/Disapproval RIP (if applicable) MPF will provide this document.
• NATO Orders (Turkey Only) The MPF will contact you for pick up within the week of the final out appointment.
• AF Form 1546 – Passenger Travel Reservation This is obtained from TMO Passenger Travel/SATO at [email protected]
• AF Form 522 This is obtained from your unit UDM or the Security Forces CATM
• Dependent Command Sponsored Approved/Disapproved
• PRP J or B-Code Change Letter his is provided to the MPF from the Wing PRAP Monitor
• PPC requirements Contact your MPF assignment technician at [email protected]

Korea Assignment Incentive Pay Complete and email to [email protected]

Turkey Assignment Incentive Pay Complete and email to [email protected]

COVID requirements Contact your MPF assignment technician at [email protected]

KAIP offers Airmen cash, advanced assignment consideration

• Published Dec. 21, 2007

Col. Mizell takes AEDC command

Col. Grant Mizell, right center, accepts the guidon from Air Force Test Center Commander Maj. Gen. Evan Dertien to assume command of Arnold Engineering Development Complex during a Change of Command ceremony June 13, 2024, at the Arnold Lakeside Complex on Arnold Air Force Base, Tenn., headquarters of AEDC. Also pictured are outgoing AEDC Commander Col. Randel Gordon, right, and AEDC Senior Enlisted Leader Chief Master Sgt. Jennifer Cirricione, center. (U.S. Air Force photo by Keith Thornburgh)

Col. Grant Mizell addresses those in attendance to see him become the 33rd commander of Arnold Engineering Development Complex during a Change of Command ceremony June 13, 2024, at the Arnold Lakeside Complex on Arnold Air Force Base, Tenn., headquarters of AEDC. (U.S. Air Force photo by Keith Thornburgh)

New Arnold Engineering Development Complex Commander Col. Grant Mizell and his wife Evelyn, right, are welcomed by Dr. Catherine Stephens, superintendent of Tullahoma City Schools and AEDC Honorary Commander, following a June 13, 2024, Change of Command ceremony at Arnold Lakeside Center on Arnold Air Force Base, Tenn., headquarters of AEDC. During the ceremony, Mizell accepted the guidon to become the 33rd commander of AEDC. (U.S. Air Force photo by Keith Thornburgh)

• Published June 14, 2024
• By Bradley Hicks
• AEDC Public Affairs

If one were to throw a dart at a map of the world, there is a good chance it would land in close proximity to an Air Force assignment held by Col. Grant Mizell.

Mizell’s tours throughout his career have included stints in Texas, Arkansas, California, Korea, the United Kingdom, Germany, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Washington, D.C.

Add Tennessee to the list.

Family, friends, colleagues, elected officials, and members of local organizations and the community watched on as Mizell became the 33rd commander of Arnold Engineering Development Complex on June 13, 2024, during a Change of Command ceremony in the Arnold Lakeside Complex at Arnold Air Force Base.

“I could not have asked for a better place or better people to share this place with,” Mizell said after accepting the guidon to take command of AEDC.

As commander of AEDC, headquartered at Arnold AFB, Mizell is charged with leading a complex that employs more than 3,000 people and comprises aerospace test facilities across seven states. Along with the facilities at Arnold AFB, AEDC operating locations include the National Full-Scale Aerodynamics Complex at Moffett Field, California, and Hypervelocity Wind Tunnel 9 at White Oak, Maryland, as well as those at Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado; White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico; Holloman Air Force Base, New Mexico; Hill Air Force Base, Utah; Edwards Air Force Base, California; and Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio.

The test facilities across AEDC are capable of simulating speed, temperature, pressure and other parameters over a wide range to meet the needs of aerospace system developers. These facilities simulate flight from subsonic to hypersonic speeds at altitudes from sea level to space. The AEDC mission is to test and evaluate systems to meet the demands of the National Defense Strategy.

Mizell said he is looking forward to getting started with his latest assignment.

“To the men and women of AEDC, thank you for allowing me to join the team,” he said. “It would be an understatement to say that I am excited to have a role in this fantastic enterprise. As the Air Force goes through historic reorganization, the department continues to pivot to compete against near-peer adversaries, and the United States is required now more than ever to exercise its global leadership. I know that this small team of teams - military, civilian and contractor, Airmen and Guardians - will continue to forge our nation’s next sword and shield.”

Mizell was commissioned in 1999 through the U.S. Air Force Academy. There, he earned a bachelor’s degree in operations research. Mizell would later earn a master’s in aviation system from the University of Tennessee Space Institute.

He is also a graduate of the U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School at Edwards Air Force Base, California, and Squadron Officer School, Air Command and Staff College, and Air War College, which are all based at Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama. Among additional educational achievements, Mizell also earned a Master of Military Operational Art and Science from the Air University at Maxwell AFB and completed the Air Force Mishap Investigation Course and Air Force Safety Board President’s Course, both based at Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico.

Mizell is a command pilot with more than 3,200 hours as an instructor, evaluator and test pilot with both the U.S. Air Force and Royal Air Force. He has flown more than 50 types of aircraft, including multiple variants of the C-130 Hercules, the C-17 Globemaster III, the L-1011 TriStar and the RC-135. Mizell accumulated more than 580 combat flight hours on six deployed tours in support of Operation Enduring Freedom, Operation Iraqi Freedom, in the Balkans and in support of contingency operations in Africa.

The incoming AEDC commander brings more than 24 years of active-duty experience to his new post at Arnold. This includes assignments at Little Rock Air Force Base, Arkansas, and Ramstein Air Force Base, Germany, as a combat pilot in C-130 aircraft, an exchange opportunity with the Royal Air Force in the United Kingdom and multiple assignments on the Air Staff at the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. Mizell was also commander of the 645th Aeronautical Systems Squadron, otherwise known as Big Safari. He served as professor and the military fellow to the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., served as the Joint Staff’s liaison to the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency and was the Chief of the Joint Operations Coordination Element, the primary liaison between the Senior U.S. Military Office in Korea and the Republic of Korea Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Prior to taking command of AEDC, Mizell served as deputy commander of the Air Force Test Center, headquartered at Edwards AFB. The AFTC is a $31-billion enterprise of more than 19,000 military, civilian and contractor personnel across Edwards AFB, Arnold AFB, Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, and more than 30 geographically separated units.

Before this assignment, Mizell served as the 412th Test Wing Operations Group Commander at Edwards AFB, where he was credited with leading developmental test and evaluation of most aircraft in the Air Force inventory. 

Among his awards and decorations, Mizell has received the Defense Superior Service Medal, Legion of Merit, Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Air Force Combat Action Medal, Joint Service Commendation Medal, Meritorious Service Medal with four oak leaf clusters, Air Medal with silver oak leaf cluster and bronze oak leaf cluster, Air Force Commendation Medal with oak leaf cluster and Aerial Achievement Medal with silver oak leaf cluster.

To conclude the Change of Command ceremony, Mizell, addressing members of Team AEDC, said the complex must remain the “frontline” in ensuring the nation maintains the technical advantage over its adversaries.

“I’m chomping at the bit to join each one of you in keeping the American democratic values in the driver’s seat, to join each of you in preventing alternative world order and join each of you in developing the next warring capability for America,” Mizell said. “God bless you, you who have been executing this mission. I’m ready to join you and get to business.”

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Deterring North Korean aggression remains primary goal, new fighter wing commander says

Col. Peter Kasarskis gives his inaugural speech as 8th Fighter Wing commander alongside the wing’s wolf mascot during a change-of-command ceremony at Kunsan Air Base, South Korea, June 7, 2024. (Luis Garcia/Stars and Stripes)

KUNSAN AIR BASE, South Korea — The new leader of a fighter wing based 220 miles from Pyongyang said deterring North Korea will remain the main mission under his tenure.

Col. Peter Kasarskis took command of the 8th Fighter Wing from Col. Matthew Gaetke during a Friday ceremony attended by about 300 people inside an aircraft hangar.

“Rest assured, I am absolutely not changing the mission here,” Kasarskis said in his inaugural speech as commander. The wing’s “importance today is much greater” than when he was stationed at the base as an F-16 instructor in 2005, he added.

The wing consists of around 2,800 airmen and 40 F-16 Fighting Falcons and hosts numerous exercises with the South Korean air force throughout the year.

“A role in any potential Korean conflict here in our backyard is much more critical as the Air Force receives more missions across the globe,” Kasarskis said. “Simply put … the Wolf Pack’s daily performance is more important than ever — both in competition, and should deterrence fail, in combat.”

Kasarskis returns to Kunsan after a stint as deputy commander of the 354th Fighter Wing at Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska. His previous duties include advanced systems division chief in 2021 for the Air Combat Command at Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Va., and operations director in Afghanistan in 2015 for the 455th Expeditionary Operations Support Squadron.

Kasarskis was commissioned in 2000 by the U.S. Air Force Academy with a bachelor’s degree in behavioral science. He has over 2,500 flight hours in the F-16 and served over 600 hours as a mission systems operator for the RC-26B Condor reconnaissance aircraft.

Col. Matthew Gaetke, outgoing 8th Fighter Wing commander, salutes his arimen during a change-of-command ceremony at Kunsan Air Base, South Korea, June 7, 2024. (Luis Garcia/Stars and Stripes)

Lt. Gen. David Iverson, left to right, commander of 7th Air Force; Col. Matthew Gaetke, outgoing 8th Fighter Wing commander; and Col. Peter Kasarskis, incoming wing commander, salute the colors during a change-of-command ceremony at Kunsan Air Base, South Korea, June 7, 2024. (Luis Garcia/Stars and Stripes)

Gaetke took command of the wing on Nov. 8 after his predecessor, Col. Timothy Murphy, retired from the Air Force five months into the job due to unexplained family reasons.

Gaetke’s tenure saw two F-16s crash into the Yellow Sea, one on Dec. 11 and another on Jan. 31 ; neither pilot was seriously injured.

Gaetke was “instrumental in increasing our combat capability and helping deter North Korea,” said the head of 7th Air Force, Lt. Gen. David Iverson, while presiding over Friday’s ceremony.

Gaetke, as he relinquished command, called Kunsan “an amazing place” and said his seven-month stint as wing commander was “an absolute honor.”

He will start his new role as a U.S. Forces Korea operations division chief next month at Camp Humphreys, 8th Fighter Wing spokesman 1st Lt. Brandon DeBlanc told Stars and Stripes on Friday.

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Our Mission:

Joint Task Force - Micronesia will synchronize operations and activities across all domains, enabling a robust warfighting posture while enhancing partner nation capacity.  Dedicated to promoting regional stability, our mission performs Homeland Defense, Defense Support to Civil Authorities, and Foreign Humanitarian Assistance through a whole of government approach within its assigned joint operations area.

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South Korea’s largest air exercise proves ‘Accept Follow-on Forces’ mission

By Staff Sgt. Nicholas Ross, 8th Fighter Wing

A crucial aspect of any exercise for the 8th Fighter Wing is the reception of forces, and that was no different as the Wolf Pack hosts the largest air exercise in the Republic of Korea.

The 8th Logistics Readiness Squadron deployment readiness cell played a vital role in accepting an additional 24 airframes and hundreds of personnel for Korea Flying Training 2024.

“It was four and a half months of planning meetings involving 7th Air Force, Republic of Korea Air Force’s Air Operation Center, and all the participants for the exercise, in addition to weekly coordination with the units around base to pull this off,” said U.S. Air Force Capt. Jeremy Fagan, 8th LRS installation deployment officer. “Organizing all those details over the past couple of months has been the job of the [Installation Deployment Readiness Center.]”

KFT 24 is the annual combined ROK-U.S. large force exercise designed to improve integration of combined and joint airpower. For this year’s iteration, Kunsan AB welcomed aircraft and personnel from 20 different units across the U.S. Department of Defense and the Republic of Korea Air Force.

Over the past month, the “port dawgs” [air transportation personnel] were responsible for downloading cargo from 10 aircraft, and the whole of LRS worked to ensure that the people and cargo got to where they needed to be for mission execution.

“KFT took extensive planning, but accepting ‘follow-on forces’ can be a very quick process,” said Fagan. “We could get notified a day before that people, assets and/or cargo are coming, and as long as our port dawgs are here, we can go out and make it happen.”

As KFT progresses, the 8th Operational Support Squadron has been crucial in maintaining safe and efficient flying operations.

“The ops temp has tripled from usual,” said Tech. Sgt. Kathy Sells, 8th Operational Support Squadron non-commissioned officer in-charge of airfield management operations. “Our Airmen have increased flight planning and airfield safety checks daily to go along with the increased daily sorties.”

Coordinating where jets will park and ensuring the airfield environment can support aircraft movements at a moment’s notice, the Airfield Management team has been essential to making sure all the aircraft that traveled to KFT 24 can effectively train.

“Deconflicting with all the airframes has been a huge planning process,” said Sells. “Within our career field we have to be flexible, and we have different courses of action for these situations ; knowledge that's proven pertinent during KFT.”

Kunsan’s ability to accept follow-on forces is a huge advantage to ROK and U.S. forces participating in the training and in the grander mission to defend the prosperity of the Peninsula. Training like KFT that test that function and the interoperability of dissimilar aircraft from the ROK-US Alliance ensures the combined force is battle-ready for any potential situation.

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U.S. Navy and Air Force special operations personnel conduct routine training in the Republic of Korea

PA-001-24 | June 12, 2024

A U.S. Air Force AC-130J Ghostrider gunship assigned to the 4th Special Operations Squadron from Hulburt Field, Fla. shuts down engines at Osan Air Base, Republic of Korea (ROK) June 12, 2024. The Ghostrider and its crews are participating in a regularly scheduled joint, combined exchange and training (JCET) event designed to positively affect the combat readiness of special operations forces (SOF) personnel in support of the mutual defense of the U.S. and ROK homelands. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Jacob Cabanero) (Photo by Senior Airman Jacob Cabanero)

• Photo Details

U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Shane Eiring, transient alert craftsman with the 51st Maintenance Squadron marshals an AC-130J Ghostrider gunship assigned to the 4th Special Operations Squadron from Hulburt Field, Fla. at Osan Air Base, Republic of Korea (ROK) June 11, 2024. The Ghostrider and its crews are participating in a regularly scheduled joint, combined exchange and training (JCET) event designed to positively affect the combat readiness of special operations forces (SOF) personnel in support of the mutual defense of the U.S. and ROK homelands. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Jacob Cabanero) (Photo by Senior Airman Jacob Cabanero)

A U.S. Air Force AC-130J Ghostrider gunship assigned to the 4th Special Operations Squadron from Hulburt Field, Fla. taxis at Osan Air Base, Republic of Korea (ROK) June 12, 2024. The Ghostrider and its crews are participating in a regularly scheduled joint, combined exchange and training (JCET) event designed to positively affect the combat readiness of special operations forces (SOF) personnel in support of the mutual defense of the U.S. and ROK homelands. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Jacob Cabanero) (Photo by Senior Airman Jacob Cabanero)

A U.S. Air Force AC-130J Ghostrider gunship assigned to the 4th Special Operations Squadron from Hulburt Field, Fla. lands at Osan Air Base, Republic of Korea (ROK) June 12, 2024. The Ghostrider and its crews are participating in a regularly scheduled joint, combined exchange and training (JCET) event designed to positively affect the combat readiness of special operations forces (SOF) personnel in support of the mutual defense of the U.S. and ROK homelands. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Jacob Cabanero) (Photo by Senior Airman Jacob Cabanero)

A U.S. Air Force AC-130J Ghostrider gunship assigned to the 4th Special Operations Squadron from Hulburt Field, Fla. prepares to land at Osan Air Base, Republic of Korea (ROK) June 12, 2024. The Ghostrider and its crews are participating in a regularly scheduled joint, combined exchange and training (JCET) event designed to positively affect the combat readiness of special operations forces (SOF) personnel in support of the mutual defense of the U.S. and ROK homelands. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Jacob Cabanero) (Photo by Senior Airman Jacob Cabanero)

U.S. Air Force personnel and an AC-130J Ghostrider gunship assigned to the 1st Special Operations Wing arrived in the Republic of Korea on June 12, 2024, in support of an ongoing joint, combined exchange training iteration with U.S. Naval Special Warfare Command personnel.

The special operations forces JCET program is managed at the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Special Operations and Low Intensity Conflict level and ensures routine combat readiness of U.S. personnel in the special operations community.

U.S. Department of Defense personnel in the SOF community routinely participate in JCETs as a means for continuing a high level of proficiency in skills known as the SOF Core Activities.

“As a professional military force, we train to maintain our readiness,” said Brig. Gen. Derek N. Lipson, Special Operations Command Korea commander. “We fully expect people will mischaracterize the intent of this training as provocative to justify the belligerent actions they already intended. This long-planned JCET ensures our personnel remain ready in our core, skills-based activities to fulfill our SOF-peculiar mission, if called upon.”

Historically, the AC-130J remains one of the most requested aircraft by ground forces.

The aircraft is suited to support unique mission requirements and can more readily travel the vast distances to reach the Indo-Pacific than previous versions. Recently, aircraft and personnel participated in exercise Balikatan 24 in the Philippines this past April and a previous JCET in the Republic of Korea in March of 2023.

Additionally, U.S. Naval Special Warfare special operators, enabling personnel, and equipment regularly rotate into the area to participate in training events and exercises.

The joint elements working together on the Korean Peninsula demonstrate a broad scope under which U.S. SOF personnel conduct routine training to maintain a heightened state of readiness.

“We’re hyper focused on supporting our ironclad commitment to the U.S.-ROK Alliance to defend our homelands,” said Lipson. “Every training event we plan and participate in focuses on the enduring goal of preventing conflict while also preparing to prevail if someone should ever decide to mistake our level of readiness and resolve toward a free, open, and stable Indo-Pacific region.”

The AC-130J is a traditional C-130J cargo aircraft modified with an array of sensors and weapons, providing an unparalleled tactical effect of deadly accuracy.

The aircraft’s modifications include a Precision Strike Package, with a precision guided munitions delivery capability as well as 30mm and 105mm weapons. Its primary missions are close air support, air interdiction, and armed reconnaissance.

The AC-130J “Ghostrider” is the 5th generation of the AC-130 series, and the 8th aircraft to wear the title “Gunship.” The concept originated during the Vietnam War from a need to protect remote outposts and hamlets from attack by enemies who would hide from traditional American airpower in the darkness and jungles.

U.S. Naval Special Warfare Command special operators and their enabling personnel specialize in direct action, special reconnaissance, and supporting functions. Often included in these missions is the need and ability to coordinate joint fires from various weapons systems, like the AC-130J.

The JCET commenced in late May and is scheduled to end prior to July. Specific dates and a detailed disposition of the units are withheld due to operational security purposes.

For official SOCKOR multimedia products, visit its DVIDS page at: https://www.dvidshub.net/unit/SOCKOR

• U.S. Special Operations Command Korea

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