International military academy students visit New Jersey area

by Staff Sgt. Gustavo Gonzalez
621st Contingency Response Wing Public Affairs

7/1/2013 - JOINT BASE MCGUIRE-DIX-LAKEHURST, N.J.  -- The 621st Contingency Response Wing welcomed foreign military students for a closer look at its air mobility support operations here, June 26 to 27.

Lieutenant Gen. Francois Hendrickx, Belgian director of military education, and 34 students from the advanced staff course at the Royal Military Academy in Brussels, Belgium, toured the CRW's Global Reach Deployment Center here to learn about contingency response operations as part of their advanced year-long leadership course.

According to Capt. Sean Hook, 818th Mobility Support Advisory Squadron air advisor and CRW tour organizer, everything they learn in this course prepares them as future leaders of their respective countries.

"Just like us, they attend advanced professional military education," Hook said. "This is Belgium's version of our Air War College."

The 621st is the U.S. Air Force's sole contingency response wing and specializes in rapidly establishing air mobility operations around the globe in remote or dangerous environments. Airmen in the CRW have responded to many of the world's largest humanitarian disasters and contingency operations, making them valuable sources of information for students.

The tour included an in-depth mission orientation and a hands-on capabilities demonstration, along with a static display of a 305th Air Mobility Wing C-17 Globemaster III and KC-10 Extender, an aerial port squadron brief and a stop at the Air Advisor Memorial before concluding their tour at the U.S. Air Force Expeditionary Center.

According to Lt. Col. Nico Claessens, a Belgian Air Component aviator, this visit allowed him and his classmates to gain valuable experience.

"You get to look at what actually happens out there in the real world," Claessen said. "In Belgium, we put a lot of focus on joint, combined war-fighting and Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst focuses on that concept as well. It gives us a great example of what we can do on a smaller level in Belgium."