'Stronger together' 52 FW leadership visits Polish detachment

by Staff Sgt. Joe McFadden
52nd Fighter Wing Public Affairs

1/31/2014 - LASK AIR BASE, Poland -- They may be few and far away from their home station -- but they share as much claim to being Saber Airmen as their peers at Spangdahlem.

Col. David Julazadeh, 52nd Fighter Wing commander, and Chief Master Sgt. Matthew Grengs, 52nd Fighter Wing command chief, visited Detachment 1, 52nd Operations Group Airmen stationed at Lask Air Base, Poland, Jan. 29.

The aviation detachment's 10 Airmen, ranging from technical sergeants to majors, serve to foster bilateral defense ties, enhance regional security and increase interoperability among NATO allies through combined training exercises with periodic rotational aircraft.

"Just think: there are only 10 of you," Julazadeh said to the Airmen. "We made building partnership capacity a part of our wing's mission and priorities, and that's exactly what you're doing here. The amount of emphasis this assignment is given by our military and political leaders ought to tell you how relevant and critical you are to our bilateral relationship. You are making a gigantic difference in the capability of the Polish air force, and their connectivity and interoperability with NATO and the United States."

Wing leadership toured the Polish installation's fitness center, swimming pool, obstacle course and indoor/outdoor tracks used by both Polish and American Airmen -- a shared usage also in line with the detachment's motto "Razem Silniejsi," meaning "Stronger Together" in Polish.

The commander and command chief then conducted a forum discussing topics like force management, the enlisted performance feedback system and future challenges facing both the American and Polish Air Forces.

While discussing the future, the commander pointed out how, at one time, 40,000 of the 100,000 troops stationed in Afghanistan came from NATO partners and allied nations.

"Our NATO allies understand our Air Force instructions and procedures because we have been building partnership capacity for years. This is what makes us all capable so when we go downrange, we work together and get the job done," Julazadeh said.

To cap off the visit, Julazadeh met with the incoming and outgoing base commanders and their wing commander to discuss training engagements, and future interoperability between the Polish and American Air Forces on endeavors with the F-16 platform.

"We've been flying and maintaining the F-16 for almost 40 years...our maintenance professionals would be happy to share some of our best practices and lessons learned." Julazadeh said as he offered additional opportunities for Polish F-16 maintenance professionals to meet with 52nd Fighter Wing maintenance personnel.

The all-volunteer team, with specialties ranging from logistics and contracting, elected to perform the remote assignment for months while carrying out multiple additional duties each held individuals within much larger squadrons.

Still, according to members like Tech. Sgt. Gloria Casanova, Detachment 1 NCO in charge of client systems and Poteet, Texas native, the no-fail mission sense aids in driving people together and not apart.

"I never would have been exposed to these opportunities had I not volunteered-- and it's been fantastic," Casanova said. "I'd highly recommend it to anyone. Just click the button to volunteer for assignments-- it's definitely worth it."