Photo By Staff Sgt. Heather Ley | Senior enlisted representatives from 22 African countries and the United States get...... read more read more
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Senior enlisted representatives from 22 African nations and the U.S. gathered for a senior enlisted forum during the 2024 African Air Chiefs Symposium held Feb. 27 to 29 in Tunis, Tunisia.
The purpose of the senior enlisted forum was to collaborate in pursuit of solutions for shared challenges across enlisted forces in Africa through shared communication, enlisted development and combined training.
“The senior enlisted forum is a crucial part of the Association of African Air Forces and allows air chiefs to both gain feedback from their enlisted forces and inject their vision and mission intent into their enlisted forces,” said Chief Master Sgt. Randy Kwiatkowski, U.S. Air Forces in Europe - Air Forces Africa command chief.
Adjudant Major Salah Hannachi, Tunisian Air Force senior enlisted representative, co-hosted the forum with Kwiatkowski.
“Our vision is a premier model of senior enlisted collaboration, through the profound impact of strong bonds and values to guarantee peace and security in Africa,” said Hannachi. “Throughout the week, I enjoyed the wide-range of knowledge exchange and leadership insight each senior enlisted representative had.”
During the forum, African senior enlisted leaders worked together to refine a unified set of noncommissioned officer guidelines with a goal of using the document to develop the next generation of competent and committed NCOs in their respective air forces.
Through a shared understanding of NCO and senior noncommissioned officer roles and responsibilities, African air forces plan to increase interoperability and collective capability. The senior enlisted forum plans on presenting their proposal during next year's symposium.
“As enlisted members, we make up the larger portion of military service members,” said Kwiatkowski. “While we must always stand beside our commissioned officers, we must be developed, and seek to develop ourselves to best serve them, and our nations. This is not a need unique to the U.S., but one shared by all military forces, and so it’s important to discuss development at every possible opportunity.”
The AACS was first held in 2011 and is hosted by a different member of AAAF each year with the Tunisian Air Force hosting this year. The senior enlisted forum was established in 2019 with five original member countries.
Air Force senior enlisted representatives in attendance during this year's senior enlisted forum were from Bénin, Botswana, Côte d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Eswatini, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritania, Morocco, Niger, Nigeria, Republic of Congo, Sénégal, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Tunisia and Zambia.
| Date Taken: | 03.01.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 03.02.2024 04:19 |
| Story ID: | 465071 |
| Location: | TUNIS, TN |
| Web Views: | 77 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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