NATO partners strengthen bonds with Airmen through discussion

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Melissa B. White
  • 451st Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs
KANDAHAR AIRFIELD, Afghanistan (AFNS) --  Senior NCOs met with NATO partners Oct. 13 here for a panel discussion gain insight on other nations' military standards, customs and courtesies, and traditions.

In addition to the United States, Canada, Great Britain, Australia and Belgium were represented at the panel. 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, the 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 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," Chief Hickey said. "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 which attributes NATO partners would like to adopt from the U.S. military. They agreed on one general point: the way U.S. military takes care of its servicemembers and the high-quality equipment they receive.

"Support your guys ... keep taking care of them," said Belgian air force Chief Warrant Officer Dirk Knuts. "We may have great planes in our military, but when it comes down to taking care of the people working on (them), that's a different story."

With a 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 would) be interesting to see how the Americans do things. I would like to do a panel where they answer the questions we have."