ILOPANGO, El Salvador – As aircraft buzzed overhead and an announcer’s voice echoed, Airman 1st Class Joy DeWitt, a life support equipment specialist with the New Hampshire Air National Guard’s 157th Air Refueling Wing, answered another question about the wing’s equipment.

For DeWitt, talking about aircrew equipment wasn’t new, but the setting – an air show here in El Salvador – was.

Members of the wing, including DeWitt, recently took part in the Ilopango Airshow as part of the National Guard’s State Partnership Program, which builds relationships between the National Guard in the states and territories and partnered nations worldwide.

For DeWitt, who enlisted a little more than a year ago, being in El Salvador was an exciting experience.

“This is my first trip in general with the Air Force, so, I didn’t know exactly what to expect,” she said. “I’m loving it. It’s a great time.”

Airmen manned a static display area that featured equipment used on the aircraft and also provided several low-altitude passes with a KC-135 Stratotanker.

“Here, we’re showing those attending the air show the equipment the pilots would use in case of an emergency, such as the life rafts,” said DeWitt. “We’re even showing the helmets they wear when they fly.

“Meeting everybody is my favorite part. They’re all smiles and it’s great to see those that come by the booth.”

For others that worked the display, the connection they made with the children who visited the booth was one of the highlights of being at the air show.

“They put the helmet on and some may think, ‘Hey, I could be a pilot. I could fly an aircraft,” said Air Force Tech Sgt. James Gainey, a life support equipment specialist. “They sparkle once they put the equipment on, and they start asking questions about the Air Force and flying. They start telling you about how they want to do stuff like that when they get older.”

Taking part in the air show, talking with visitors and working with civilian aviation authorities and the Salvadoran air force was one way the Airmen were able to expand on and build relationships.

“I really think it helps to build relationships by being able to talk and communicate with each other,” said Gainey. “We get to learn a bit about their culture and they get to learn a little about ours.”

Both DeWitt and Gainey said the language barrier was a challenge.

“I can say small things, like ‘thank you’ and ‘hello,'” Gainey said. “We have a crew chief with us that speaks Spanish, and he helps out a lot. “

For DeWitt, the trip has helped her increase her Spanish vocabulary.

“I’ll ask [our crew chief] what to say and how to say it, instead of having him talk for me,” she said.

That has helped break the ice with those that visit the display.

“They giggle a little bit because they know I have no idea what I’m saying,” she said. “I’d like to learn more.”

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