Skivvy Nine is a U.S. Air Force intelligence unit that’s been stationed at Osan Air Base, South Korea for several decades. It has 
existed under a variety of official designations over the years: 6903 Security Squadron (SS), 6903 Electronic Security Squadron (ESS), 6903 Electronic Security Group (ESG), and 303 Intelligence Squadron (IS) are a few examples. (There are old timers out there that would be able to tell you more variants.) The Air Force command (parent organization) that oversees Skivvy Nine (and other units like it throughout the world) has itself gone by several different names: United States Air Force Security Service (USAFSS), Electronic Security Command (ESC), Air Force Intelligence Command (AFIC), and Air Intelligence Agency (AIA).
The official AIA website says that the mission of the agency is to:
Provide information operations forces delivering battlespace awareness, all-source intelligence and information warfare capabilities to air component and joint force commanders, DoD, and national agencies…anytime, anywhere.
Yeah, that’s a mouthful. Anyway, the agency is located at Kelly Air Force Base, Texas.
So why would someone call a unit in Korea “Skivvy Nine” instead of one of the official number-letter combination thingies I listed above? I don’t think anyone is quite sure anymore. I’ve heard lots of conjecture, but I don’t think any of it was authoritative.
To make a long story short, Skivvy Nine has achieved legendary notoriety in military intelligence circles, and not just because it excels in its primary mission of “keeping the morning calm”. (The Korean War hasn’t flared up again since 1953, has it?)
No, Skivvy Nine is notorious because of the people who served there and the things that they did there (both on and off duty). You see, Osan Air Base is a typical U.S. military 
station in Asia. And as you may or may not know, U.S. military bases in Asia tend to have a unique sort of “GI town” located right outside the gates. And these GI towns tend to encourage lots of drinking in their numerous bars. And once they get the GIs drunk, they encourage them to associate with professional women of ill repute (whores, tarts, strumpets, harlots, hammers, floozies, Jezebels…you get the drift). These are things that help keep the local economy humming along, after all. And certain members of Skivvy Nine, specifically the Korean linguists, got along in that GI town environment quite nicely, thank you. It turns out that speaking the lingo has “certain advantages”. Just use your imagination a little bit and you’ll understand why.
Many Skivvy Niners–especially the Korean linguists–would stay in Korea longer than their one-year tour. This is because they knew that, in most cases, they’d be sent back shortly after returning to the States anyway. So why bother? There were even a few, albeit rare, instances of Skivvy Nine linguists who had their tours involuntarily extended.
For a lot of the guys, the choice was to a) shrivel up into a ball and be miserable for a year, or b) get with the program, work their butts off, and have one hell of a time while they were at it. And all this, as you can imagine, just might set the backdrop for a whole bunch of interesting tales. I’m hoping I might be able to get some former (and present) Skivvy Niners to contribute their stories to this category. But I’ll post a few first, and then see what happens.
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Technorati Tags: Skivvy Nine, Air Force, intelligence, Osan Air Base, South Korea, 6903 Security Squadron, 303 Intelligence Squadron, USAFSS, ESC, AFIC, AIA, morning calm, Korean War
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I was stationed at Osan afb from Dec.1977-Dec 1978. 6903rd SS
I was one of the last secuity cops with the same TS clearence as the other members of the Skivvy Nine (The Hill) linguist and all others.
I learned alot as my first duty station, stationed at Osan, Korea.
All of it was not what you wrote home about (to mama anyway)
Stan the Cop was my firend, he was there forever.
would like to hear from anyone that was there, especially during my stay.
Thanks larry
Hi Larry! Nice to meet you. It’s funny, because I first arrived at Osan in April of 1978, so our tours overlapped. And I remember “Stan the cop”, too. Small world. If you get a chance, go read my post “The Night of the Tar Paint”. That was the kind of stuff I was up to back in those days….
Take her easy!
My first tour at Osan was from Dec 1976 - Dec 1978. I was a Chinese linguist from what little I remember. Really enjoyed “The Nght of the Tar Paint” although it brougt back a mix of good and not so good memories.
I was at Skivvy Nine February 1975 to February 1976. I still have my blue Skivvy Nine jacket and “Decandent Dawg Dartster” team shirt someplace in the house. I even have a recording of “Thunder Road” recorded from AFKN. The old heads in the unit told me Skivvy Nine comes from the way the Koreans attempted to pronounce the 69 of 6903 Security Squadron. It seemed like a good answer so I let it go at that.
Monte ‘Zippy’ Zillinger
Hi Stan!
I feel honored to have my 22 year old self (taken some 25 years ago) as a featured pic on this page. And humbled. I still remember the subject BTC, too–not my style (too chubby), but no denying those T were B.
Jim
(now to get to looking at the rest of the site)
Holy cow!
This is the first time I ever got a comment from a guy whose picture was featured in the post. For anyone who comes lurking here in the future, Jim “Flanny in Paradise” Flanagan is the once-young man in the black-and-white photo in front of the sign with questionable “language” printed on it.
Cool!
(Effluent, forgive me a bit of promotion…)
And hey, any Skivvy Niners who run across this site… if you’re not on the Skivvy Nine List (or don’t know what it is), drop me a line at redoregon@satxNOSPAM.rr.com (remove the obvious part). I’ve got almost 700 people on the List, if you wanna get in touch with old buddies this is the way to do it!
What “obvious part”?
I was a Skivvy Niner from July 80 to 81. My supvr was Olan Hytower.
Lived in the dorm directly accross from the Lounge and was one of the bartenders. I was there when a one-time Air Force Chief of Staff paid us a visit, and made the comment about “not having his officers fraternize with the hired help.”
Miraculously, the unit’s welcome sign suddenly read: “Welcome to Thunder Hill, Home of the Hired Help!”
Cheers, Mike
Retired in ‘95
I was a 208 in Korea (rhymes with dia, thanks Radar) for all of 1989. I was told the same thing, “Skivvy Nine” came from the “juicee girls” in town who couldn’t pronounce “sixty nine”. Wasn’t too proud of a unit that took it’s nickname it that manner, but whatever. At the bottom of the “hill” someone had put up a M*A*S*H style mileage sign with boards pointing in various directions to hometowns with however many thousand miles it was. My buddy and I snuck in a sign that said “Skivvy Nine - 120 feet” pointing up the hill. Don’t remember how long it stayed up. During my tenure there the 208’s got busted off the nice “per diem” pay eating dorm-cooked food, and had to start eating in the chow hall. The fly in my cauliflower didn’t endear me any to that. We didn’t have to “play” the wargames at first, but after the 208’s got busted fetching their mail during an exersize, we had to pretend to play. Sucked sitting in a gas mask that stank of the gas room (forgot to change my filters) for 3 hrs at a time! Have forgotten way more than I remember, but when I get ordered off this world, I’m sure I’m gonna answer with “KEV KEGGBE”!
Hi All
I was a skivvy niner up on the hill 85-86 and would really like to here from anyone who was there during that time frame get in touch
Daniel–GAUNKPE–McHugh
I was a Chinese linguist (Yale/IFEL) at what then was the 6929th RSM, Osan, from May 1959 to June 1960.We had ground-pounders (I was one) and airborne sh–heads (I wanted to be one but missed out). When I first got there we lived in quonset huts with space heaters and worked in vans on top of the hill. The ASH’s flew C-47s under the name Blue Sky.Toward the end of my tour we moved into a new operations building, which some HQ genius had built with WHITE tile floors. Also, about two weeks prior to leaving we all had to move from our quonsets to new concrete block dorms. For the most part no one wanted to move, especially those in the FIGMO zone. I flew into Osan on a C-124, flew to Japan on R&R on a C-133 (no one remembers those), flew back to Osan on a C-47 and then left for good on a C-130. All to or from Tachikawa AB in Japan. I made some good friends there, but unfortunately have lost touch with all of them. I had some good times in Korea. Or at least the passage of (much) time has made it seem so
Good luck to all the Skivvy Niners out there.
I was stationed at Osan in 1985-86. My flight actually got me drunk enough on my 21st birthday that I felt the need to dance on stage in one of the dancer’s outfits. Memories
I remember Red Oregon very well. I even have a picture of someone signing his longjohns with the infamous red marker that decorated every bathroom in Korea.
Effluent: you’re joking, right?
Dan: drop me an email at the address above, I’ll hook you up with about 700 skivvy niners, guarantee some were there when you were.
Darla: Oh, I remember that dancer’s outfit. UN Club, if I remember… what I wouldn’t have given for a camera!
And that’s Tom Dziak’s ass you have a picture of. Aloha Club, if OB hasn’t killed off too many brain cells.
Holy Sh*t, Steve Holcomb was in my first (or was it second?) solo Goodfellow class! I bet he’s a grandfather now. Man, I know I’m old…
I was stationed there from 91-92. Had a couple of good friends I lost contact with. J.R. (skivvy nine cop) and Joe (computer op). Lots of good times from what I can remember. Heavy Metal club was always a favorite early in the night. Always enjoyed the green bean or brown bean runs that started at the lounge and ended with someone going to the red door downtown. Great site. Thanks for keeping the memories alive.
I was a 202 at Skivvy Nine from Aug 76 - Aug 78, I came their from 4 months at Clark in the Philippines where I was finishing out my tour at Ramasun Station in Thailand after the Thai’s kicked us out in March 76.
I have interesting memories of Osan and Skivvy Nine, including Chin Mok drinking contests, running from the KNP after pulling drunken stunts in Songtan-Up, and busting my ass at work on Baker Flight for a year and in the day shop for a year.
Great memomories, great people, great camraderie.
I was stationed at Skivvy Nine from March of 88 to March of 89. Was there for the Olympics, which was kinda cool to go see. Got to see Lougainis bang his face on the board while diving.
Anyway, a couple of specific Skivvy Nine memories:
1. the Rok going over the hill’s parking lot cliff in the jeep and being chased by his fellow Roks to kill him. The subsequent sign that was put up “Watch for Falling Roks”
2. The Colonel who had his feet chopped off by the falling bomb door
3. Getting totally wasted at the infamous Chipmonk “Chin Mok” Friendship festival on the homemade Skivvy Nine strawberry margaritas (with real strawberries and powdered sugar…dang they were good.)
4. Playing some card game late into the night that was about nuclear war. It was all the rage then.
5. Brown Beans and Green Beans
6. “Crime Dog” McDuff and the snail trail a hammer left on his new white pants when she sat on his leg…hilarious.
7. riding to the hill on my ten-speed in 100 degree heat during an exercise in my charcoal suit and gas mask…then, once up the dang hill and in the bunker taking off my boots and pouring out an inch of sweat water.
8. the worse sore throat in existence…The Korean Crud
9. the smell of the shitty fields burning
10. the dust from the pine trees and the Gobi Desert all landing on Osan at the same time
11. Finding fellow AF members face down in the Denjo Bitches after a night on the town.
Could go on for awhile. Love to go visit once again.
God Bless All,
Brian Giffin