Air Force Generals Mobilize Military Band for Drinking Spree, Flight Later Canceled

[Anchor]

Since last year, the Air Force has faced persistent criticism over lax military discipline following a series of accidents, ranging from a fighter jet mistakenly dropping bombs on a civilian area to a machine gun falling from an airborne early warning and control aircraft. While the Air Force apologized and promised to restore discipline, video footage obtained by SBS of an internal Air Force dinner party in April shows a starkly different scene. At this "communication meeting" attended by Air Force generals, not only did drinking and dancing take place during duty hours, but military band soldiers were also mobilized. The following day, a flight schedule for the wing commander was even canceled.

For our top story, Bae Junu reports exclusively.

[Reporter]

Air Force officers dressed in flight suits jump up and down with their hands in the air, while military band soldiers liven up the atmosphere by singing and playing guitar and keyboards.

Officers also form a line to play what is known as a train game.

The two people dancing in the center are the commander of the Air Education and Training Command, an Air Force lieutenant general, and the commander of the 3rd Flying Training Wing, an Air Force brigadier general.

This is on-site footage from the Education and Training Commander's communication meeting, held on April 29 at a cafeteria of the Air Force 3rd Flying Training Wing in Sacheon, South Gyeongsang Province.

The original itinerary included a discussion session, group exercise, and an encouraging dinner, but the group exercise was skipped, and attendees reportedly drank and dined for about three hours starting at 5 p.m.

An officer who attended the dinner said, "Officers drank about one to two bottles of soju per person, along with plenty of beer and strong whiskey."

Voices within the Air Force point out that holding a drinking gathering before work hours had ended and mobilizing military band soldiers for an officers' drinking dinner—rather than an official military event—could constitute a violation of service regulations.

In addition, the commander of the 3rd Flying Training Wing was found to have canceled an "on-site inspection flight" scheduled for April 30, the day after the dinner.

While drinking is cited as the reason for the flight cancellation, the Air Force reportedly did not conduct a separate investigation.

The Air Force stated, "The communication meeting was held to encourage service members whose morale had dropped due to a series of flight accidents."

(Video by Choi Jin-hwa | Graphics by Lim Chan-hyeok)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.