Col. Peter Kasarskis has taken command of the 8th Fighter Wing at Kunsan Air Base in South Korea. In his new role, Kasarskis emphasizes that deterring North Korean aggression will remain the main mission of the wing [897fe7bf]. The 8th Fighter Wing consists of around 2,800 airmen and 40 F-16 Fighting Falcons [897fe7bf]. Kasarskis returns to Kunsan after serving as the deputy commander of the 354th Fighter Wing at Eielson Air Force Base in Alaska [897fe7bf]. The outgoing wing commander, Col. John Gaetke, will start his new role as a U.S. Forces Korea operations division chief next month at Camp Humphreys [897fe7bf]. Gaetke's tenure saw two F-16s crash into the Yellow Sea, one on December 11 and another on January 31. However, Gaetke was praised for increasing combat capability and helping deter North Korea [897fe7bf].