Turkish officers get lessons in Air Force enlisted training Published Feb. 24, 2009 By Carl Bergquist Air University Public Affairs MAXWELL AIR FORCE BASE, Ala. (AFNS) -- Four members of the Turkish air force visited Gunter Annex's Barnes Center for Enlisted Education complex Feb. 12 to gain insight into how to improve their air force's enlisted education. The group from Turkey headed by Col. Metin Ozdemir, included Lt. Col. Cem Acar, Maj. Huesyin Uysal and Lt. Eyup Has. "The purpose of the visit is enlisted force development training," said Maj. Eric Hauff, their Pentagon escort. "They are utilizing the U.S. Air Force as a model to develop their own enlisted education program." Colonel Acar, speaking for the Turkish delegation, said his country is trying to refine their military education systems, and the group wanted to see the enlisted education and training programs at Gunter Annex. "I'm very pleased to be here because we have a close relationship with the United States, and our military system is very close to yours," he said. "I am very impressed with the Community College of the Air Force, as it is a very good program for enlisted members. I will be happy to inform my superiors about what we have seen here." The colonel said he has been to the U.S. before, but for the rest of the delegation, the trip was their first. He said military life in the U.S. is different from Turkey, and he was "very impressed" with everything he had seen. Major Uysal added the group learned a lot about education -- especially certifications -- from their visit, and he felt the information would be useful to the Turkish air force. "I think in my country we may hopefully use these lessons in our training system," he said. "I think the Senior NCO Academy is very useful, and we may establish a similar academy in our air force." Colonel Acar said he found everyone to be very dedicated to their jobs, and he was especially impressed by the fact that instructors seemed to care as much about their students' welfare as caring about what they learned. He said he felt instructors were not just filling students' heads but also filling their hearts. In addition, he deemed the distance learning programs to be quite important. "Being able to broadcast your experiments everywhere for the benefit of others in the air force is really good," he said. Chief Master Sgt. Charles Webber, the Barnes Center for Enlisted Education director of staff, said center personnel were delighted to have the Turkish officers at Gunter Annex. The tour of the Barnes Center included a center mission briefing, a meeting with educational program cadre members, a CCAF mission briefing, tours of the Senior NCO Academy and Enlisted Heritage Hall. The group departed Feb. 13 for their nearly 40-hour return trip to Turkey. "They want to improve their enlisted force and were amazed by CCAF, our schools and our curriculum," Chief Webber said. "They asked all the right questions and were glued to every briefing. They are definitely walking away with more than they asked for." Comment on this story (comments may be published on Air Force Link) View the comments/letters page