By Jung Sung-ki
Staff Reporter
The Air Force will take the lead in joint search-and-rescue operations with the U.S. Air Force on the Korean Peninsula beginning December as part of the agreed transfer of 10 major security operations from U.S. Forces in Korea (USFK) to South Korea.
The day-and-night search-and-rescue mission is the last of the 10 security missions, including the patrol of the Joint Security Area in the Demilitarized Zone and counter-fire mission against North Korea's long-range artillery, to be transferred under the 2003 deal, the Air Force said in a news release.
The Korean Air Force's 6th Search-and-Rescue Group and the 33rd Rescue Squadron of the U.S. Air Force will conduct their last training exercise from Tuesday through Thursday in waters off the country's western coast before the mission transfer, an Air Force spokesman said.
During the exercise, South Korean airmen will play a leading role in rescuing an imaginary American pilot forced to eject from his aircraft, with the support from the U.S. rescue squadron, he said.
``This exercise aims to hone the joint search-and-rescue operational skills of the two Air Forces under real combat-like conditions,'' the spokesman said. ``The two sides will thoroughly review their tactics in identifying and rescuing missing personnel from the sea.''
A Korean Air Force HH-60P rescue helicopter and a U.S. Air Force HH-60G helicopter will be mobilized to rescue the pilot, he added.
The transfer of the USFK's key security missions was agreed upon as part of efforts to help South Korea assume more responsibility for its national defense, particularly the defense of border areas.
The move was also in line with the reduction of U.S. troops under a 2004 deal, which called for cutting the number of U.S. forces from 37,000 to 25,000 in phases by the end of this year.
President Lee Myung-bak and U.S. President George W. Bush, however, agreed to pause the troop reduction and maintain about 28,000 troops on the peninsula during their Camp David summit in April.
Under a wartime command transfer deal reached last year, the Korean military is to take the lead in combat operations on the peninsula with the U.S. military shifting to a naval- and air-centric supporting role.