Airmen air advisers from the 435th Contingency Response Group traveled to Baku, Azerbaijan, April 12 through 16 to conduct an air base defense and security forces familiarization event.
The security familiarization event enabled Ramstein Airmen and the Azeri military to discuss and learn new mission techniques from one another in a professional and cohesive environment. Previous events held with the Azeri military included airfield management, airspace management and base communication architecture familiarization.
“It was an honor to work with professional peers in the discussion of air base defense knowledge and the pursuit of improvements,” said Staff Sgt. Matthew Meadows, 435th Security Forces Squadron air adviser and instructor. “This was an outstanding learning opportunity for all participants.”
Air advisers who made the trip first had to go through more than 120 hours of formal training in a USAF air adviser sanctioned course. The course instructs Airmen how to advise fundamentals and how to provide strategic guidance among many other mission capability subjects.
Capt. Matthew Tempia, 435th CRG air adviser and executive officer, led a three-person team in the exchange of ideas and possible improvements to airfield security standards.
“The airfield security familiarization event was a valuable experience,” Tempia said. “It aided in furthering our partner relationship with the Azeri military and shows that the Azeris are very eager to be an active member of NATO. Future exchange activities should only strengthen the relationship between the U.S. and Azerbaijan. We look forward to seeing more of the Azerbaijan military and their country’s leadership.”
With these partnerships, the U.S. military is able to familiarize themselves with the mission techniques of our allies and improve overall interoperability. “Security considerations are a cooperative endeavor by nature,” said Master Sgt. Jay Peavey, 435th CRG air adviser and building partner superintendent. “I was very impressed with the talent and capacity of my Azeri allies and look forward to future engagements.”
(Master Sgt. Jay Peavey contributed to this article)