Romanian air force officers visit local Alabama Guard unit

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MONTGOMERY, AL (AFNS) --  Five officers from the Romanian air force visited the Alabama National Guard's 187th Fighter Wing here recently.

Over their five-day visit, the Romanian officers received a broad overview of F-16 Fighting Falcon operations and sustainment programs.

Romanian air force leaders are considering plans to change their fighter aircraft force to the F-16, officials said, so the visit to a fully operational fighter wing was a source of invaluable insight into the requirements, maintenance, operations, reliability and capabilities of the F-16.

The visit was part of the state partnership program that was created by NATO officials after the end of the Cold War. The SPP paired state National Guard organizations with former communist countries in a program intended to establish or normalize relations in a new and positive manner.

Romania, the first Warsaw Pact nation to enter the program, was paired with the Alabama Guard in 1994. Since then, Alabama Guard and Romanian military personnel have participated in dozens of training exercises, activities and assistance visits in both Alabama and Romania, officials said.

"The Alabama National Guard and Romania partnership is a mature relationship, established more than 17 years ago," said Lt. Col. William Overby, the Alabama National Guard SPP coordinator. "Alabama continues to be a valuable partner in enabling Romania to build capacity to support deploying troops, enhance military capabilities, improve NATO interoperability and reinforce the principles of responsible governance."

Officials at the 187th Fighter Wing plans to continue to share lessons learned from years of F-16 experience with their Romanian air force counterparts through the Alabama National Guard SPP in the future, officials said.

(Courtesy of 187th Fighter Wing Public Affairs)