Photo By Tech. Sgt. Gustavo Gonzalez | Master Sgt. Jonathan Pogue, 818th Mobility Support Advisory Squadron air advisor,...... read more read more
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The 818th Mobility Support Advisory Squadron routinely deploys to Chad to conduct engagements with their military in areas such as logistics, maintenance, and operational planning. These missions strengthen regional security, promote stability, and foster enduring partnerships, ultimately contributing to a more secure and prosperous environment.
Chad has established itself as a regional counterterrorism leader and is an integral U.S. partner in the fight against terrorism in the Sahel region of Africa.
“Our partnership with Chad is significant in many respects, but two that stand out are our continued efforts to counter violent extremist organizations and the great power competition,” said U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Joseph Severin, 818th MSAS assistant director of operations. “It gives the U.S. an opportunity to foster a cooperative burden sharing relationship with a partner who has a mutual interest in combating terrorism and helps maintain our presence and access to a strategically competitive region where our competitors are actively seeking to expand their sphere of influence.”
Since 2013, the 818 MSAS has engaged with over 1,000 partner nation members in Chad and conducted over 30 missions. Over the past few years, there has been high demand for Cessna 208 maintenance and flying operations. The squadron, along with U.S. Army counterparts, incorporated air-to-ground operations to enhance their interoperability for surveillance and counter violent extremist organization operations in the Lake Chad region.
“One of the most noticeable changes has been the evolution of their C-208 program, from initial acquisition and basic flying maneuvers to teaching intelligence surveillance reconnaissance holding patterns to effectively communicate with ground forces, collect and interpret intelligence, and brief leadership,” said U.S. Air Force Master Sgt. Salvador Mascorro, 421st Combat Training Squadron flight chief.
The 818 MSAS acts as a conduit to support United States Transportation Command objectives globally, including Africa. Mobility forces require access, overflight and sometimes support from partner nations ranging from fuel and aerial port services to ensure a safe and secure airfield. Air advisors provide a critical link to global partners to ensure partner personnel are ready to support both countries’ interests.
“Their malign influence is there, and we're looking to counter it and these challenges demand that we adapt, that we innovate, and that we act decisively to secure our interests,” said U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth. “The United States believes that there are and have to be African solutions to African problems.”
Missions can involve advising on developing instructor and evaluator cadre across multiple military specialties, flight safety fundamentals, communications, logistics, aircraft maintenance and manned intelligence surveillance reconnaissance/intelligence collection processes.
“We exchanged best practices within the flight safety and command and control realms and during these exchanges we saw the impact from previous teams’ missions,” said U.S. Air Force Master Sgt. Michael Mueller, 818th MSAS air advisor. “It’s the motivation going into future missions because you know your job matters. Our efforts are going to pay off long past my time with the unit so, I may not see the ‘direct’ milestones, but I do get to see others come to fruition.”
A resilient U.S.-Africa partnership strengthens global cooperation and ensures mutual prosperity in an increasingly interconnected world. By sharing best practices, the 818 MSAS helps Chad build their capacity to meet security challenges independently and allows U.S. assets to be relocated for other operational demands.
“Despite U.S. military prowess, it has always been apparent to me that we simply can’t be everywhere all the time and need to foster partnerships with like-minded partners to help in our fight against the enemy,” Severin said. “I personally feel proud of our partnership with Chad, because if a small air advisor team can foster a relationship and enhance the skills of our partner, it relieves the burden on our warfighters to be in harm’s way and frees up high demand/low density U.S. assets for deterrence and to enact lethal effects elsewhere.”
Being able to celebrate their successes has not only reinforced the impact of shared efforts but motivates continued growth and strengthens collective trust for future endeavors.
“Those relationships we’ve fostered for over a decade have opened doors and enabled other U.S. agencies to access Chadian assets when they couldn’t before,” Mascorro said. “Seeing them grow as a force, having the opportunity to celebrate their promotions, being there when they comeback from a deployment and hearing them tell you the training they received helped along the way has been extremely rewarding.”
| Date Taken: | 10.27.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 10.27.2025 08:36 |
| Story ID: | 550451 |
| Location: | JOINT BASE MCGUIRE-DIX-LAKEHURST, NEW JERSEY, US |
| Web Views: | 38 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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