Chief Roy meets with top Afghan enlisted leader

  • Published
  • By David W. Roberts
  • Defense Media Activity
LACKLAND AIR FORCE BASE, Texas (AFNS) --  The chief master sergeant of the Air Force met with the top enlisted leader of the Afghan air force here Oct. 27.

Chief Master Sgt. of the Air Force James A. Roy and Eid Mohammad, the command sergeant major of the air force in Afghanistan, discussed education, training and other issues relating to the enlisted forces of both nations.

"It's great to have (Command Sgt. Maj.) of the air force Mohammad, from Afghanistan, here today," Chief Roy said. "This meeting that we had here today is important because it's his first visit to the United States, and his first exposure to the greater United States Air Force. We had an opportunity to talk about recruiting, basic training, technical training, all the way through to (professional military education), based on his desires."

Chief Roy said the priorities of Command Sergeant Major Mohammad are very similar to those of U.S. Air Force leaders.

"He's interested in basically the same thing we're interested in: properly organizing, training and equipping his airmen," Chief Roy said. "He's also interested in how well we care for our Airmen. He certainly understands the fiscal restraints of his nation, but he's a motivator, first of all, and he's an advocate for his airmen."

Command Sergeant Major Mohammad, speaking through an interpreter, said he has learned a lot from meetings with U.S. Air Force leaders.

"What we've learned here is that you have a great leadership system, especially the enlisted folks," he said. "We learned that the enlisted folks should receive education in Afghanistan, in order to be good leaders."

The command sergeant major also said that what he has learned gives him hope for the future development of the Afghan air force.

"This gives me a hope that one day, in Afghanistan, we will train our enlisted airmen in order to become good leaders in the future, to take care of each other in the air force," he said.

Chief Roy highlighted the close relationship between members of the Afghan and U.S. air forces.

"It's important for me to keep relationships with the leadership of Afghanistan," he said. "As they continue to build their force, we need to understand what their desires are. We have Airmen there today (who) are doing what we call air advisory roles. Those Airmen are doing amazing work for the United States, along with NATO, and of course, for Afghanistan. So it's very important for us to continue with that relationship. I think that reflects back to every one of those Airmen that we have deployed forward, how important their mission is, each and every day."