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Mauritanian Airmen visit JBMDL, CRW

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Gustavo Gonzalez
  • 621st Contingency Response Wing Public Affairs
JOINT BASE MCGUIRE-DIX-LAKEHURST, N.J. --  The 818th Mobility Support Advisory Squadron takes multiple trips each year to work alongside of African partner nations.

Mauritania returned the favor with a visit of their own Sept. 15 to 20.

Capt. Ahmed Babow, Mauritanian Islamic Air Force (FAIM) Atar base commander from Atar, Mauritania, and maintenance operations commanders Capt. Dia Ibrahim, and Lt. Elhachmy Amar, visited the 621st Contingency Response Wing here for a week-long exchange engagement covering maintenance, security, communications, fuels and logistics practices.

"It is very impressive how they do their job," Babow said. "Their processes in security and communications are really good. We have exchanged so many good ideas that we can now bring home with us."

Tech. Sgt. Tenniller Preston, 818th MSAS air advisor, went to Mauritania when the MSAS visited earlier in the summer.

"We traveled there to assess their current capabilities," she said. "As a result, our team identified a number of engagement opportunities for future visits. During their time here this week, we exchanged ideas based on our previous partnership."

This successful engagement sets up future trips with the Mauritanian Islamic Air Force, said Preston. "I think the visit went really well," she said. "They enjoyed what we had to show and present to them. We'd like to go back to Mauritania and build upon what we have both shared. There are currently a number of areas in which the 818th MSAS and the USAF can support their capability enhancement and work toward mutual goals of Mauritania as well as West African regional security."

The 818th MSAS is scheduled to return to Mauritania in December.

Mobility support advisory squadrons are tailorable expeditionary organizations established to conduct building partnerships and building partner capacity engagements at partner nation locations where air mobility operational support is non-existent or insufficient. The 818th MSAS focuses on operations in Africa. The 571st MSAS, based at Travis Air Force Base, Calif., focuses on Central and South American partnerships.