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Kazakhstanis get firsthand look at 20 FW safety program

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt Kenny Holston
  • 20th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
SHAW AIR FORCE BASE, S.C. --  Six pilots from the Kazakhstan Air Defense Force's flight safety division, recently visited Shaw to get a first-hand look at how the 20th Fighter Wing conducts flight safety operations.

The two-day visit consisted of briefings covering flight safety, weapons safety and ground safety.

In addition, the Kazakhstan pilots were allowed to tour the flight tower and weapons load barn to get a first-hand look at how Shaw integrates safety into its daily flight operations.

Although flight safety has many intricate components, Lt. Col. Scott Walker, 20th FW chief of safety, and Capt. Jeremy Nolting, 20th FW flight safety simplified these parts as much as possible for the Kazakhstan aviators in hopes it might increase their aviation program's safety and success rates.

"We touched on almost everything related to flight safety and conducting flight operations in a safe manner," Walker said. "We briefed them on the Air Force's safety structure, the 20th FW's maintenance operations, squadron flight operations and even weapons storage. We also took the time to discuss our Bird Aircraft Strike Hazard program and Mid-Air Collision Avoidance program."

As the tours and briefings continued, the Kazakhstan ADF members became increasingly impressed with the 20th FW's safety programs.

"From what we have seen, the 20th FW has one of the best safety programs in the world," exclaimed Col. Kazhmuratov Murat, chief main directorate for supervision over aviation safety. "This is not my first visit to a U.S. Air Force Base, but what I've seen here has impressed me."

Murat and his team plan to take the knowledge they were given and apply it to their aviation program in Kazakhstan. By doing this, Murat explained, they hope to keep their pilots and maintenance crews safe throughout daily operations.

Although the visit was designed to educate the Kazakhstani pilots on flight safety, 20th FW safety operations officers also learned a few things during the process.

"I think the visit was a huge success from our standpoint," Walker said. "The Kazakhstanis received a lot of information that they can use to help increase their safety programs, but we also took down a few ideas from them that we can look at using in our programs here."

After their time at Shaw, the Kazakhstan officers drove to Seymour Johnson AFB, S.C., where they spent two days continuing their education on Air Force flight safety operations.