{"id":52644,"date":"2018-03-01T17:00:41","date_gmt":"2018-03-01T17:00:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2018\/03\/01\/interview-kadena-air-bases-18th-wing-commander-on-north-korea-and-why-readiness-is-at-an-all-time-high\/"},"modified":"2026-08-20T12:27:44","modified_gmt":"2026-08-20T12:27:44","slug":"interview-kadena-air-bases-18th-wing-commander-on-north-korea-and-why-readiness-is-at-an-all-time-high","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/smr\/kadena-air-base\/2018\/03\/01\/interview-kadena-air-bases-18th-wing-commander-on-north-korea-and-why-readiness-is-at-an-all-time-high\/","title":{"rendered":"Interview: Kadena Air Base&#8217;s 18th Wing commander on North Korea, and why readiness is at an all-time high"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure class=\"wp-block-smg-jwplayer-video\"><atype-video-jwplayer nostick=\"true\" playlisturl=\"https:\/\/cdn.jwplayer.com\/v2\/playlists\/fCzRqMW8?tags=05994425-4ca0-4e0e-b9f9-c97db0503363\" poster=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/video-poster-05994425-4ca0-4e0e-b9f9-c97db0503363.jpg\" aspectratio=\"16 \/ 9\" mute autostart=\"false\"><\/atype-video-jwplayer><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Brig. Gen. Case Cunningham, the commander of the 18th Wing and Kadena Air Base on Okinawa, Japan, gives his perspective on the base\u2019s role in the Asia-Pacific region. (Jeff Martin\/Staff)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">KADENA AIR BASE, Japan \u2014 Kadena Air Base is the largest U.S. military installation in the Asia Pacific, and is home to the Air Force\u2019s largest combat wing, the 18th Wing. Every day a dizzying array of aircraft \u2014 from F-15 Eagles, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/digital-show-dailies\/air-warfare-symposium\/2018\/02\/21\/air-force-mulls-over-survivability-enhancements-for-its-aging-tankers-and-airlift-planes\/\" title=\"\" class=\"\" target=\"_blank\">KC-135 Stratotankers<\/a>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/global\/asia-pacific\/2018\/02\/20\/structural-issues-plague-us-pave-hawk-helicopters\/\" title=\"\" class=\"\" target=\"_blank\">HH-60 Pave Hawks<\/a> to planes from tenant units that fly F-35As and Navy P-8s \u2014 can be seen in skies over the skies of Okinawa as pilots train.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As commander of the base and the 18th Wing, it\u2019s Brig. Gen. Case Cunningham\u2019s job to ensure that this strategically critical hub is ready for any contingency. Defense News, which toured the base early this month, sat down with Cunningham on Feb. 14.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><b>The goal of Pacific Air Force\u2019s mission statement is to deliver combat-ready airmen. What\u2019s the 18th Wing and folks here at Kadena Air Base doing to fulfill that mission?<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">[For] the amazing airmen at Kadena, readiness is at the top of our list. So honing our readiness to its finest edge and just making sure that we\u2019re ready to execute all of the missions that we\u2019re called to execute, and then the other piece of that is that this particular base is a key power projection platform in the Indo-Pacific, so that\u2019s another responsibility that we have here at Kadena.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/newsletters\/training-simulation-report\/2018\/02\/20\/interview-head-of-us-air-force-special-ops-in-asia-pacific-talks-regional-threats-priorities\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"206\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/3981269.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Interview: Head of US Air Force special ops in Asia-Pacific talks regional threats, priorities<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">The head of the 353rd Special Operations Group sat down with Defense News to talk about the team&#039;s work and why it matters to the diverse, often volatile Asia-Pacific region.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><b>Readiness has been a problem across the entire military, and across the Air Force as well. How are you doing?<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I feel like we\u2019re doing really well. That\u2019s the amazing part of what our airmen contribute to this mission set. They\u2019re working very, very hard at making sure that they\u2019re flying the missions that they need to fly, and maintaining the aircraft that they need to fly those missions, and we\u2019re really doing well on that front. I think our readiness is at the highest level that it\u2019s been in quite some time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><b>That\u2019s crazy. Why and how? At a time where so many other parts of the military are struggling to meet their goals, what\u2019s enabling Kadena to have the highest readiness it\u2019s ever had?<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When you talk about readiness, it\u2019s an interesting question. What we have been doing as Secretary Mattis has come on and especially been focused on that readiness piece, is we have been deliberately focusing our efforts on exactly that. And I think with that deliberate focus of efforts, it\u2019s produced results. So whatever the equipment is that we\u2019re using to produce those results, it\u2019s the efforts of our airmen with that focus that\u2019s really paid off.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><b>The other thing you hit on is power projection. One thing we keep hearing about from operators here is how Kadena\u2019s location is a key enabler for that. You\u2019re right in the thick of things. At a time where there seems to be so much tension, how do you project power without exacerbating those tensions?<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I think you just heard Secretary Mattis talking about this recently with the release of the defense strategy. Our job in uniform is to make sure that we\u2019re as ready as we can be so that we can provide the credibility, as diplomacy is in the lead in many of these increased tensions that you talk about. But I also want to emphasize that because of where we are located, it provides us the opportunity to engage in partnership building and alliance strengthening in a way that is incredibly powerful as we look to the future here in the asia pacific. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So for the examples of that, right now, as we sit here, we\u2019re engaged in Cobra Gold, an exercise with Thailand. We\u2019re also engaged in Cope North, which is not only a joint [exercise] with our Marine Corps and Navy partners, but also with Australia and the Japanese Air Self Defense force, in Guam in that exercise. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><b>Your job is to be as ready as can be. Does the current threat environment change Kadena\u2019s posture, its op-tempo, the kinds of missions that are being trained for here?<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a>The environment is as complex as it has ever been. You don\u2019t have to read a paper for very long to recognize that fact. But I will tell you that the missions that we execute are the same ones that we\u2019ve been executing for many, many years from this particular location. Certainly the focus is sharp, but the missions remain the same.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><b>It sounds like you are confident in the combat capability of your airmen if called to do that.<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Yes, extremely confident. Honestly I couldn\u2019t be more confident. As you\u2019ve noted, we have some aging aircraft. I think on average, you\u2019d find up to 38 years old. But our airmen are doing amazing things with those aircraft every single day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><b>I think when there are reports of North Korea getting ready to launch a missile, it\u2019s very opaque to the American people what the U.S. military may be doing in response to do that. When there are those kinds of reports, what is happening here? <\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For operational security concerns, I can\u2019t go into all of the details of that, but what I would say is the level of readiness that we have attained here at Kadena through the deliberate efforts of our airmen, leave us in a place that we\u2019re very well positioned for any contingency. So it\u2019s not business as usual, but I feel very confident in our readiness to respond should that call be required.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><b>Could you go a little further? What operations are heightened in the moments when there is a North Korean ballistic missile launch?<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a>We watch those instances very closely. And processes are in place by which we could respond appropriately, should that be required. We do not go into any panicked mode, when there is a launch from [North] Korea.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><b>I think that gets lost in translation, that the U.S. military is prepared in that way when we see those reports. <\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Yeah, and that\u2019s what\u2019s so critical about the readiness and how much we\u2019re focused on that particular edge. Again, I\u2019m not going to say that it\u2019s an everyday activity, because clearly it isn\u2019t. But when they do occur, then we\u2019re ready to respond.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><b>One of the platforms that we didn\u2019t get to see out here that I\u2019m very interested in is the WC-135 Constant Phoenix, which can sniff out particles connected to nuclear weapons. How are you using it? What are you learning from it? Can you say anything\u2014<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I can\u2019t, and you knew I couldn\u2019t. [laughs]<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><b>Ok, had to try. So let\u2019s talk about the budget situation. There\u2019s a continuing resolution still in effect, even though the next budget request for fiscal year 2019 has just been released. How does that effect Kadena?<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A lack of budgetary stability has real implications for our readiness. If you just take a look at the constant CR environment that we\u2019ve been through recently. That uncertainty has a lot of impact, one just from the focus of our airmen as they see that in the news, but two, there are many efforts that we have to execute at the wing level to be ready for the potentinal of a government shutdown each time one of those occurs. So that does have real impact to our readiness out here in the Asia Pacific.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><b>Can you give an example?<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For the recent government shutdowns, and I think these are well documented all the way up to the secretary and to the chief, the activities that have to go on. The canceling of temporary duties for our airmen who are out and about doing some of these partnership building activities. Those are canceled. Airmen are brought back home. That requires the chaos of bringing the travel system to bring everyone back from something that was well planned for. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Our civilian employees, who will show up to work to get furlough notices. [&#8230;] Just a lot of those activities create extra and additional work on top of the work that we\u2019re already very heavily engaged in, which is being as ready as we can be as a military force in the Indo-Pacific. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Kadena Air Base is the biggest U.S. military base in the Asia-Pacific. Its commander chatted with Defense News about some of its biggest challenges.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":113901,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":118,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[7,45,160,11,36,118,30],"tags":[8592,8596],"coauthors":[3384],"class_list":["post-52644","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-air","category-asia-pacific","category-daily-news-roundup","category-global","category-newsletters","category-kadena-air-base","category-smr","tag-china","tag-north-korea"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"MZNWHX3W7JE25DRKLT2MHJI3R4","arc_canonical_url":"\/smr\/kadena-air-base\/2018\/03\/01\/interview-kadena-air-bases-18th-wing-commander-on-north-korea-and-why-readiness-is-at-an-all-time-high\/","remove_feature_photo":true,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.0 (Yoast SEO v28.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Interview: Kadena Air Base&#039;s 18th Wing commander on North Korea, and why readiness is at an all-time high - Defense News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Kadena Air Base is the biggest U.S. military base in the Asia-Pacific. 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