BPACS strengthens U.S. and Latin American relations

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Andrea Posey
  • 1st Special Operations Wing Public Affairs
HURLBURT FIELD. Fla., -- --  The United States Special Operations schoolhouse, here, graduated 34 attendees July 22, from the Building Partnership Aviation Capacity Seminar.

The BPACS is a two week course, held four times a year, which brings aviation-minded partner national military personnel together with U.S. civilians and military members. The intent of the seminar is to build understanding through collaborative learning about mutual Aviation Enterprise Development and capacities and partnership opportunities related to participating nations national security priorities.

“The purpose of the seminar is for individuals to have interaction in the classroom,” said Capt. Kandi Allred, BPACS director from the USAFSOS. “The most benefit we get is having our international partners and our U.S. counterparts sitting side by side. This provides everyone with the opportunity to build a relationship or open a dialog [about] different challenges they face within their own country, and use the U.S. as a model to fix some of [these] challenges.”

For representatives of the Guatemalan Air Force, who participated in the BPACS seminar, the course allowed them to share their own experiences with other partner nations.

“I think BPACS is important if the U.S. wants to work side by side with [Latin] American partner nations because the language and cultures could be a big issue,” said Col. Jorge Roberto Ruiz Serovic, commander of the Guatemala Coronel Northern Air Command.

During the program, 40 guest speakers and tour guides from across the Department of Defense, other government agencies and the civilian sector shared their personal experiences in aviation enterprise and security with BPACS attendees’. This particular BPACS included the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency, the U.S. Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance, the Department of Homeland Security Customs and Border Protection, and the Federal Aviation Administration.

“We’ve found using people’s personal experiences really resonates with our partner nations because they can take knowledge and apply it to something that has actually happened,” Allred said. “That resonates with our partner nations because it shows that you can take theory and put it into practice.”

One third of the students’ time was spent participating in various classroom exercises and field trips providing them opportunities to learn about each other’s aviation capabilities and security challenges. Additionally, BPACS allowed them to address U.S. perspectives on enhancing capabilities and addressing challenges and how to apply both to the partner nation's future aviation resource development.

One of the places the seminar visited was the Okaloosa county courthouse where Judge Patt Maney, who has been involved with the program since 1995, hosted and coordinated the visit to familiarize students with the U.S. system of justice.

While at the courthouse students received briefings from other members of the local judicial system such as Okaloosa County Sherriff Larry Ashley, attorneys and probation officers. Next, the attendees were given the opportunity to visit the courtroom to watch “live” pleas in criminal traffic cases. Lastly, students observed a drug dog demo, special response team equipment and the sheriff’s marine equipment demonstrations.

“The [seminar] creates an opportunity for the court system to support the educational mission of USAFSOS for both foreign and U.S. military personnel by increasing their understanding of the U.S. system of justice and law enforcement,” Maney said. “It also creates an opportunity for civilian members of the court system and law enforcement community to learn from the foreign visitors.”

Allred hopes students are able to return to their countries with a better understanding of how the U.S. aviation security cooperation system works and will utilize contacts they met in the seminar as a resource in the future.

“Building relationships is probably one of the most important things,” she said. “We can sit and teach in the classroom all day long, but it’s the relationships that are built outside of the classroom hours that will leave the most lasting impression.”