PACAF Commander conducts transnational dialogue at APCSS

by Staff Sgt. Nathan Allen
Pacific Air Forces Public Affairs

5/2/2013 - JOINT BASE PEARL HARBOR-HICKAM, Hawaii -- Gen. Hawk Carlisle, commander of Pacific Air Forces, visited the Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies in Honolulu, Hawaii recently, to discuss security cooperation in the Pacific theater and beyond with "international fellows" from several partner nations.

The APCSS, established Sept. 4, 1995, is a Department of Defense institute that addresses regional and global security issues while building relationships among future leaders and decision-makers within the region through a comprehensive program of executive education and conferences.

During the briefing, Carlisle discussed topics including PACAF strategy, the military's rebalance to the Asian-Pacific region, and the importance of transnational coordination and cooperation to overcome challenges.

"The size and diversity, the cultural differences, the climate differences, the environments that everyone lives in in the (Pacific) theater does make this a unique theater," he said. "Despite the differences, most nations understand that international cooperation when covering just about any threat is dependent upon interaction with your fellow nations. We know all these are the things we face every day."

Retired U.S. Air Force Lt. Gen. Dan Leaf, APCSS director, said involving Carlisle, as well as other PACOM component command leadership, is extremely beneficial to the international students who participate in APCSS events.

"We work closely with (Pacific Command) and all of the components to support their missions and conduct our work consistent with their priorities and objectives," he said. "We have been fortunate to have all of them participate in various events at the center."

One benefit of holding these kinds of transnational dialogues, Carlisle said, is the development of a shared strategy to overcome the borderless challenge of combating non-state actors.

"We still have sovereign issues on borders and state to state discussions," he said. "Non-state actors - piracy, terrorism, trafficking - do not. If we, as a group of nations, are going to deal with these things, we have to be more transparent. We have to be more interoperable and we have to work more closely together."

Leaf said APCSS alumni are currently leading countries as heads-of-state, chiefs of defense, and other key diplomatic and ministerial posts. With that in mind, he said, the exchange was valuable both for Carlisle and the international fellows.

"Exchanges give senior Air Force leadership the opportunity to get perspectives from a wide array of up-and-coming regional and world leaders," Leaf said. "Gen. Carlisle demonstrated the transparency that we stress in our courses, and gave direct answers to some very difficult questions. I believe that he left a lasting impression on the class, demonstrating the U.S. Air Force's commitment to peace, stability and prosperity in the Asia-Pacific region."

When discussing how to devise a security strategy, Carlisle re-emphasized finding a way to work with neighboring nations - an endeavor that requires multiple parties to find common ground.

"The defense of your nation is largely dependent upon your ability to interact with nations around you. Building cooperation, building whatever common ground there is, building a strategy for what you want to look like in the future, and then bringing that to fruition," he said. "I can guarantee that every nation in this theater can find common ground. At the very least, (our shared) objective in life is to hand to our children, and our children's children, a better world to live in."