AFCEC goes to NATO

  • Published
  • By Amy Ausley
  • AFCEC Public Affairs
TYNDALL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. --  Saying hello to people in meetings with the member nations of NATO can be tricky business. But, once the meetings get underway, a common language of engineering emerges and brings nations together.

"I try to learn to say 'Hello, how are you?' in the other countries' languages so when I greet them I say 'Bonjour,' or 'Guten morgen,'" said Joanie Campbell, Air Force Civil Engineer Center electronics and controls subject matter expert in the Operations Directorate. "The last time I tried to say it in Greek, he member laughed and said, 'That's a fish, but I know what you're trying to say!' Just trying to say hello in their languages helps lighten the seriousness of our business and encourages cooperation."

Several members of AFCEC represented the United States on working groups and panels for NATO recently. The groups meet throughout the year to discuss various subjects including how to make member facilities, infrastructure and equipment work together to support NATO-led military operations.

Mike Zapata, the Air Force fuels facilities SME at AFCEC, serves on the NATO Petroleum Handling Equipment working group. He not only represents the Air Force, but heads the U.S. delegation as well.

When you're working together with 27 other nations, it's important for everyone to be on the same page, Zapata said.

"In order to conduct joint operations, we need to have interoperability between the military assets of the member countries. We have British or German aircraft landing at U.S bases or U.S aircraft landing at their bases ... the fueling systems must adapt to those aircraft," said Zapata. "By standardizing the fuel systems, all aircraft can be fueled safely and quickly anywhere NATO is called to serve."

To promote interoperability, the panels and working groups create standardization agreements, or STANAGs. They define and set up processes, procedures, terms and conditions for common military or technical procedures or equipment between countries of the alliance. They provide common procedures and logistics so one member nation's military can support another member's military.

Dr. Craig Rutland, AFCEC's pavements SME, chairs the NATO Airfield Pavements Team. He said STANAGS mean countries can work together for humanitarian, monitoring or combat missions.

"It's important to ensure any U.S. aircraft can land on a runway, taxi and park on an apron and be assured the design and conditions of those surfaces meet U.S. Air Force minimum criteria and standards," Rutland said. "Other nations want to be assured of the same when their aircraft are operating from airfields designed, assessed or sustained by the United States." The U.S. delegation on the Airfield Marking, Lighting and Infrastructure Panel and the Air Operations Services Working Group is headed by Campbell. She is also a member of the U.S. delegation on the Airfield Services Procedures Panel and the Air Traffic Management-Communications, Navigation and Surveillance Committee.

"Some of the smaller nations often ask for support on different issues because they know the United States will listen to them and won't try to push something through without their opinions," said Campbell. "We want their opinions, we want them to participate and if one of them has an item they want to bring to the floor, we will help them do that."

The meetings are very formal and structured, but a lot of work gets done outside of meeting rooms, the American delegation said it's all part of the theme of interoperability and communication. And, over time, the members of the panels and working groups begin to build relationships.

"During coffee breaks and lunch or dinner, some of the member countries get together and discuss the finer issues that sometimes can't be discussed in an open forum," said Zapata. "Some folks call it the 'music of the meeting' as it helps move our formal meetings along. You build relationships and start to understand the intention behind people's positions."

Other AFCEC members work with NATO as well including Jim Podolske, Fire Emergency Services division chief and Air Force Fire Chief, who is chairman of the Crash Firefighting Rescue Panel. Tom Stemphoski, technical content and publications manager for Air Force Fire Emergency Services, serves as the head of the U.S. delegation and panel secretary on the CFR Panel. George VanSteenberg, pavement asset manager, is the head of the U.S. delegation on the NATO Airfield Damage Repair Team.