NCO Bilateral Exchange: Growth through connection

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NCO Bilateral Exchange: Growth through connection

By Senior Airman Rhett Isbell, 18th Wing Public Affairs / Published December 02, 2019

Japanese Self-Defense Force Staff Sgt. Shuichiro Masunaga, 6th Tactical Fighter Squadron aircraft general technician, right, trains on refueling an F-15C Eagle with guidance from, U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Adrian Lemard,18th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron crew chief, left, as part of an NCO Bilateral Exchange program Nov. 19, 2019, at Kadena Air Base, Japan. Bilateral exchanges allow for a better understanding of the capabilities held by each countries Armed Forces, as well as the opportunity to improve relations between the United States and Japan. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman RhettI sbell)

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Japanese Air Self-Defense Force Staff Sgt. Shuichiro Masunaga, 6th Tactical Fighter Squadron aircraft general technician, right, trains on refueling an F-15C Eagle with guidance from Tech. Sgt. Adrian Lemard, 18th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron crew chief, left, as part of an NCO Bilateral Exchange program at Kadena Air Base, Japan, Nov. 19, 2019. Bilateral exchanges allow for an improved understanding of capabilities held by each country’s armed forces, as well as the opportunity to improve relations between the United States and Japan. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Rhett Isbell)

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Japanese Self-Defense Force Staff Sgt. Shuichiro Masunaga, 6th Tactical Fighter Squadron aircraft general technician, left, and U.S. Air ForceTech. Sgt. Adrian Lemard, 18th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron crew chief, train on changing tires on an F-15C Eagle as part of an NCO Bilateral Exchange program, Nov. 19, 2019, at Kadena Air Base, Japan. Bilateral exchanges allow for a better understanding of the capabilities held by each countries Armed Forces,as well as the opportunity to improve relations between the United States and Japan. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Rhett Isbell)

U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Mario Rey, 18th Security Forces Squadron military working dog handler, left, speaks with U.S. Air Force, U.S. Army, and Japanese Self-Defense Force members participating in an NCO Bilateral Exchange program about the capabilities and training of military working dogs Nov. 18,2019, at Kadena Air Base, Japan. Bilateral exchanges allow for a better understanding of the capabilities held by each countries Armed Forces, as well as the opportunity to improve relations between the United States and Japan.(U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Rhett Isbell)

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Tech. Sgt. Mario Rey, 18th Security Forces Squadron military working dog handler, left, speaks with U.S. Air Force, U.S. Army and Japanese Self-Defense Force members participating in an NCO Bilateral Exchange program about the capabilities and training of military working dogs at Kadena Air Base, Japan, Nov. 19, 2019. Bilateral exchanges allow for an improved understanding of capabilities held by each country’s armed forces as well as the opportunity to improve relations between the United States and Japan. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Rhett Isbell)

U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Mario Rey, 18th Security Forces Squadron military working dog handler, right, guides U.S. Air Force, U.S. Army, and Japanese Self-Defense Force members participating in an NCO Bilateral Exchange program through the 18th SFS kennels Nov. 18, 2019, at Kadena Air Base, Japan. Bilateral exchanges allow for a better understanding of the capabilities held by each countries Armed Forces, as well as the opportunity to improve relations between the United States and Japan. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Rhett Isbell)

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Tech. Sgt. Mario Rey, 18th Security Forces Squadron military working dog handler, right, guides U.S. Air Force, U.S. Army and Japanese Self-Defense Force members participating in an NCO Bilateral Exchange program through the 18th SFS kennels at Kadena Air Base, Japan, Nov. 19, 2019. Bilateral exchanges allow for an improved understanding of capabilities held by each country’s armed forces as well as the opportunity to improve relations between the United States and Japan. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Rhett Isbell)

KADENA AIR BASE, Japan (AFNS) --

Kadena Air Base hosted visitors from the Japan Air Self-Defense Force during the 2019 NCO Bilateral Exchange program Nov. 15–22.

The NCO Bilateral Exchange program consists of U.S. Air Force, U.S. Army and Japanese Air Self-Defense Force members coming together to learn and grow. The program pairs members from similar career fields, so they can learn how their counterparts operate to accomplish the missions of peaceful development, contingency response and aggression deterrence.

“The purpose of the NCO Bilateral Exchange is to gain insight on how our partners perform their mission and how we perform ours,” said Tech. Sgt. Adrian Lemard, 18th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron crew chief. “For instance, they organize their crew chiefs in a different way compared to us. They’re a lot more specialized in their career fields.”

The program included a historical and mission briefs, base tour, physical training, professional enhancement seminars and worksite visits.

“It was a great time to improve the relations between the Japanese and Americans,” said Japanese Air Self-Defense Force Staff Sgt. Shuichiro Masunaga, 6th Tactical Fighter Squadron aircraft general technician. “It’s awesome to see the bond between us. I was able to improve my English and I liked how hands-on the maintenance is here.”

Masunaga performed maintenance with Lemard he normally wouldn’t have the opportunity to take part in such as: tire changes, launch procedures on the F-15 (Eagle) and F-15 refueling procedures. The opportunity to work closely with his Air Force partner left both, Masunaga and Lemard hoping for more bilateral exchange events in the future.

“It’s good to see another side of the mission,” Lemard said. “You can get locked into a narrow viewpoint of how your mission and craft operates, so it’s always fun to be able to see another angle or learn new tricks of the trade that can make us better at what we do. I would love to do this again.”