KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — Ten members of the Washington Air National Guard visited their counterparts in the Malaysian Armed Forces from July 22 to 26. The purpose of the visit was to exchange ideas on leadership development and strengthen the existing State Partnership Program between the two nations.
“Within the U.S. Air Force and Air National Guard we spend an enormous amount of time and money on developing and also empowering our enlisted Airmen. I believe highly educated and trained Airmen will be more effective and lethal at their respective jobs. Having discussions with senior leaders from Royal Malaysian has been a great opportunity to share our respective enlisted developmental models, experiences and perspectives,” said Chief Master Sergeant Allan Lawson, State Command Chief of the Washington Air National Guard. “We have learned a lot from one another through these engagements.”
During one engagement, an enlisted development working group focused on improving leadership culture, career development, and organizational structure. In a separate engagement, a Female Leaders Engagement Program brought together servicemembers to discuss women’s roles and leadership. Colonel Carrie Wentzel, Director of Staff for the Washington Air National Guard, highlighted the value of female leadership and the benefits of sharing experiences between the two forces.
“Females bring a unique perspective to the military and provide different ways of solving problems. The Washington Air National Guard and Royal Malaysian Air Force are stronger because we have female leaders and I am excited to work with these inspiring professionals and share our successes and challenges in developing and supporting female leaders. This initiative will strengthen our respective militaries and our State Partnership Program” said Wentzel.
The Washington Air National Guard delegation also met with Warrant Officer I Shahamrie bin Abdullah, Sergeant Major of the 2nd Malaysian Armed Forces Regiment and Malaysia’s senior enlisted advisor.
The visit highlights the importance of people-to-people relationships in each organization. Sharing values and human interconnection with militaries throughout the region provides long-term mutual trust, understanding, respect, interoperability, and a shared commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific.