S. Korean contingent in Kuwait marks 6,000 hours of accident-free flight

SEOUL, Nov. 14 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's contingent in Kuwait this week recorded 6,000 hours of accident-free flight time, a feat achieved over the past four years, the Air Force said Friday.

The number translates into 3.2 million accident-free kilometers for the
130-member contingent, which is stationed at Kuwait's Ali Al Salem Air Base,
according to the Air Force. The contingent serves as an air support unit for
South Korea's Daiman unit in Iraq.
That unit is set to be pulled out by Dec. 20, along with the country's 520-member
Zaytun unit in Iraq's northern city of Irbil.
"The records are proof of and result from the hard work and devotion by some
1,300 warriors who have served with the unit during our deployment," the
mission's chief, Col. Koh Seok-mok, was quoted as saying. "All our service
members will carry out their duties until the very last day of deployment."
During its deployment, the unit has transported over 43,000 troops, in addition
to some 4,400 tons of equipment and supplies in and out of war-torn Iraq,
according to the Air Force.
President Lee Myung-bak, in a message sent Thursday to the Daiman unit, said, "I
am proud of the unit and all its service members, who have overcome the heat and
sand storms of the desert and enemy hostilities to mark 6,000 hours of
accident-free flight time."
brk@yna.co.kr
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