MONTGOMERY REGIONAL AIR NATIONAL GUARD BASE, Ala. - Fifteen members of the Romanian air force are here at the 187th Fighter Wing for a month-long management and maintenance training on the F-16 Fighting Falcon aircraft.
The visit was part of the State Partnership Program, created after the end of the Cold War. The SPP at first 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.
But managing a squadron of aircraft requires more than just technical know-how.
"We get trained on how to fix jets and how to follow the procedures," said Romanian air force Maj. Constantin Pecete, one of the lead maintainers with the group. "But the things that are not covered in that training are how to organize, what meetings you need to have, what plans you need to have, emergency procedures and things like that.
"Every new weapon system comes with a new philosophy," said Pecete. "It's a big help to us to see how things are done here, and they are done well"
U.S. Air Force Senior Master Sgt. William Rhodes, avionics element superintendent with the 187th Maintenance Squadron, is the wing's liaison for the visit. He believes that the level of experience in the maintenance group is what makes the partnership effective.
"We are a world-class maintenance organization," said Rhodes. "We've been doing this for a long time. The National Guard has a lot of experienced maintainers who have been working on these exact same jets for more than 20 years. I think Romania recognizes that they can come to us, and the same people will be here five years from now. There will be some turnover, but it won't be like an active-duty unit where you would have all new people."
Rhodes and Pecete both agreed that these in-person visits are invaluable for strengthening partnerships between the two nations.
"It's just like building any relationship," Rhodes said. "The more time you spend with someone, the more you become friends and the more you can help each other out."