NATO partners strengthen bonds with Airmen through discussion

Published Oct. 16, 2010
By Senior Airman Melissa B. White
451st Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs

KANDAHAR AIRFIELD, Afghanistan -- Air Force senior NCOs met with NATO partners for a panel discussion to gain insight on other nations' military standards, customs and courtesies, and traditions, Oct. 13, at Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan.

In addition to the United States, four different countries were represented at the panel: Canada, Great Britain, Australia and Belgium. The American SNCOs took turns asking questions to the panel to get a better understanding of how the other militaries operate.

"The biggest benefit to the panel was the audience's understanding that as much as the military services are different in so many ways, we do share some of the same challenges," said Chief Master Sgt. Antonio Hickey, 451st Air Expeditionary Wing command chief. "The concerns regarding promotions, performance reports, and fitness were very similar to what we experience in the Air Force."

The members covered a variety of topics including their retirement plans, time of service, type of education mandated for promotion, warrant officer programs, whether their local population back home supports their troops and several other points.

"The other take away for many was the discussion on enlisted development through education and professional military education," said Chief Hickey. "We all gained some very good insight into the various programs and requirements of the other services. I think many walked away with a renewed respect for the education and training of our enlisted counterparts."

Another topic discussed was what attribute they would like to adopt from the U.S. military. They agreed on one general point: the way American take care of their troops and the high-quality equipment they receive.

"Support your guys ... keep taking care of them. We may have great planes in our military, but when it comes down to taking care of the people working on it, that's a different story," said Belgian Air Force Chief Warrant Officer Dirk Knuts as he discussed how his troops only get issued two sets of uniforms for deployment. Additional uniforms are paid for out of pocket."

With a current base population of nearly 30,000 people representing dozens of countries, Airmen at the board found the information shared at the panel useful. On any given day, people on base are bound to cross paths with people in all sorts of camouflage uniforms from many different countries.

"I hope this was rewarding for them, because it was great getting to share the information about our services," said Canadian Forces Petty Officer 1st Class Martin Cashin. "Now, it'd be interesting to see how the Americans do things. I would like to do a panel where they answer the questions we have."

This is the first NATO SNCO panel held between the Air Force and its coalition partners here. The first one was held between the NCOs earlier this year. After hearing feedback from the NATO members, Chief Hickey said he is interested in having panels in the future, including one where Americans share their stories.