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The U.S. may move its Air Force out of Korea unless Seoul provides a new bomber training range within 30 days. Lt. Gen. Garry Trexler, the commander of the Seventh Air Force and USFK deputy commander, reportedly presented the ultimatum during a lecture at the Gyeonggi Province Office on Thursday.
The U.S. has already told the Defense Ministry that if the matter is not dealt with as required, the Air Force would be relocated; Trexler¡¯s remarks confirm that Washington is serious.
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An F-18 Super Hornet is launched from the deck of the U.S. aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln during joint Korean-U.S. military exercises off the port city of Busan on March 30.
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Currently U.S. pilots fly to Thailand or Okinawa to get their necessary training hours, which they cannot get here after a controversial bomber range was shut down. If the issue continues unresolved, the U.S. is expected to move either the Seventh Air Force Eighth Fighter Wing in Gunsan or the 51st Fighter Wing in Osan for overseas training. If it is the 51st, it would mean the loss of F-16 fighters and the A-10 and QA-10 close combat support aircraft.
The Ministry of Defense plans to install a Weapons Impact Scoring System (WISS) at a new range on the island of Jikdo in Gunsan, North Jeolla Province by the middle of October, and bump up the usage ratio of the facility from 80 percent for Korea and 20 percent for the U.S. to 70:30. But the plan faces a bumpy road due to opposition from residents and the local government.
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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