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12th Air Force (Air Forces Southern) training team builds a secure partnership with Chilean Air Force

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Adam Grant
  • 12th Air Force (Air Forces Southern) Public Affairs
DAVIS-MONTHAN AFB, Ariz. --  Members from a 12th Air Force (Air Forces Southern) mobile training team recently returned from a subject matter expert exchange with the Chilean air force on maintenance procedures and use of night vision goggles.

Master Sgt. Jeremy Jacobs, 12th Air Force (Air Forces Southern) Tactical Aircraft Manager, lead the 15-day temporary duty assignment aimed at building the partner capacity with the assistance of Staff Sgt. Nicholas Filip, 355th Operational Support Squadron Aircrew Flight Equipment Technician.

"The class consisted of 12 Chilean Air Force Personnel with a variety of ranks," said Jacobs.

The training team's main focuses were on the proper use and the maintenance of the NVG.

"The first week all of the participants took part in class room instruction on nomenclatures pertaining to NVG's to understand the language that would be used by the technical order," said Jacobs. "They were given a chapter by chapter introduction and along the way all warnings, cautions, and notes were emphasized."

Following the classroom instruction the team transitioned their focus to proper maintenance of the NVG's. They were also instructed on the in routine 180-day inspection on the NVG's using specialized equipment to evaluate the optical performance, alignment, and adjustment of the goggles.

"Once they were familiar with using the test set to check for any malfunctions with the NVG's, we then shifted the focus to disassembling, reassembling, and troubleshooting steps for other NVG malfunctions," said Filip.

The Chilean air force personnel then learned pre-and post-flight procedures, and were trained on the NVG inspection requirements while also being briefed and shown procedures for the aircrew member's use such as calibrating the devices to their individual eyesight.

All participants were then presented a certificate for completing outlined objectives for the exchange, which helped prepare all involved for night-time aerial operations as well as future participation in upcoming joint Exercises Maple Flag and Red Flag.