ROK Air Force, USTRANSCOM exercise Mutual Support Agreement

SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. —The Republic of Korea Air Force (ROKAF) and U.S. Transportation Command (USTRANSCOM) exercised a longstanding Mutual Airlift Support Agreement (MASA) in support of Korea Rotation Force ’24, February 28 - March 2.

To exercise the MASA, the ROKAF contracted Korean Air, a commercial airline, to fly two airlift missions from Osan Air Base, South Korea to Colorado Springs, Colo., and from Robert Grey Army Airfield, Texas, back to Osan Air Base. The KAL Boeing 777 aircraft repositioned a total of 540 personnel and 190,000 lbs. of equipment. 

“The Mutual Airlift Support Agreement (MASA) is an important agreement between the Republic of Korea and the United States to support urgent airlift needs in the event of a crisis or war on the Korean Peninsula,” said Maj. Junyoung Lee, MASA Program Manager, ROKAF. “The MASA exercise is significant because it is a process to develop more efficient and clearer application procedures to ensure that support can be provided quickly in the event of an urgent crisis. This exercise was especially meaningful because it was the first time since 2018 due to COVID-19.”

The ROKAF-USTRANSCOM MASA was initially signed in 2004 and first exercised March 12, 2007, when a KAL Boeing 777 flew 125 U.S. troops from Kadena Air Base, Japan, to Osan Korea, during a reception, staging, onward movements and integration exercise. 

“The agreement allows USTRANSCOM and the Republic of Korea Air Force, as the government designees, to request U.S. military, ROK military, and civilian airlift mobilized or under contract to support the rapid reinforcement of ROK and U.S. defense forces in the event of military hostilities in the Republic of Korea,” said USTRANSCOM 's Acquisition Cross-Service Agreement Manager, Paul Dismer. 

The MASA has been revised and exercised in different ways throughout the past 20 years, but the strong relationship between the U.S. and the ROK militaries has remained consistent. 

That relationship remains the linchpin of peace and security in Northeast Asia and the Korean Peninsula. 

“Exercising MASA for this force rotation is an excellent demonstration of the iron-clad relationships between the ROK and U.S. militaries and our industry partners,” said U.S. Air Force Col. Rich McClintic, USTRANSCOM Liaison, U.S. Forces Korea. “These relationships enable us to be anywhere globally within hours, posture us to sustain an effort for as long as necessary, and build combat readiness.”

About USTRANSCOM
U.S. Transportation Command is a warfighting combatant command that projects and sustains military power at a time and place of the nation’s choosing. Powered by dedicated men and women, USTRANSCOM underwrites the lethality of the joint force, advances American interests around the globe, and provides our nation’s leaders with strategic flexibility to select from multiple options, while creating multiple dilemmas for our adversaries.