The Air Force wants to expand its international exchange program for enlisted airmen to improve cooperation between allies in case of a major war in the Pacific.
Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force David Flosi said at the Senior Enlisted Leader International Summit in Washington that the expanded international exchange for enlisted airmen would start with nations in the “Five Eyes” alliance with the United States — Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United Kingdom.
And work is already under way to expand the U.S.’ partnership with the Royal Australian Air Force, Flosi said.
Flosi and his Australian counterpart, Warrant Officer of the Air Force Ralph Clifton, have “been working already on a plan inside the Royal Australian Air Force to find opportunities for us to not only learn from each other, but to become interchangeable,” Flosi said. “We’re looking to expand that rapidly.”
Details regarding how such international enlisted exchanges will work are still being sorted, and an implementation timeline has not yet been set, Flosi’s office said.
The Air Force and other U.S. services in recent years have been shifting focus from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan to a potential war in the Pacific, which is requiring the military to dramatically rethink how it fights.
In the Middle East, the Air Force operated in relatively uncontested environments, Flosi said, with comfortable runways, assured supply chains, robust communications networks and complete air superiority.
“In that environment, we could roll in deep,” Flosi said. “That environment does not exist in the Indo-Pacific theater. All of those capabilities are contested.”
The U.S. is working to expand partnerships with allied nations — such as the trilateral AUKUS alliance with Australia and the U.K. — to prepare for a conflict if China attempts to reunify with Taiwan by force.
The enlisted international partnership plan is not an AUKUS effort, but it is similarly intended to strengthen cooperation between the nations’ militaries before a conflict erupts, Flosi’s office said.
The Air Force also sent a bomber task force of B-2 Spirit stealth bombers to Royal Australian Air Force Base Amberley on Aug. 16 to train alongside allies and partners.
Flosi pointed to growing cooperation with enlisted members of the Saudi Arabian and Jordanian air forces as other examples of strengthened partnerships. There have also been recent opportunities to work with Finland and Sweden as NATO’s newest members.
Additionally, the new Inter-Pacific Air Forces Academy graduated its first class in November 2023, which consisted of six American noncommissioned officers and 13 NCOs from European and Indo-Pacific countries.
“Being able to learn from each other was a great opportunity for us, and we believe it was mutually beneficial for our partners in the region,” Flosi said of the relationships with the Saudis and Jordanians.
Stephen Losey is the air warfare reporter for Defense News. He previously covered leadership and personnel issues at Air Force Times, and the Pentagon, special operations and air warfare at Military.com. He has traveled to the Middle East to cover U.S. Air Force operations.
