Three groups conducted close air support training under the State Partnership Program on Dec. 1 – 5, 2020 at the Warren Grove Gunnery Range in Warren Grove, N.J., DVIDs reports.
The participants were the U.S. Air Force A-10 Thunderbolt II Pilots from the 104th Fighter Squadron located in Middle River, Maryland; Joint Terminal Attack Controllers (JTACs) from Estonia; and the 146th Air Support Operations Squadron located in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
“The unified training between Estonia and the United States was formed through the State Partnership Program, a tool that the Department of Defense has utilized to build successful relationships with over 80 nations around the globe,” according to the DVIDs article.
“Oklahoma is one of the few states that doesn’t have a true state partnership on the Air Force side,” said Tech. Sgt. Timothy L. Davis, 146th Air Support Operations Squadron standards and evaluations program manager..
“We happened to be working with the 104th Fighter Squadron when they went to Estonia in 2015, so we tagged along with the A-10 squadron and happened to run into the guys from Estonia. The partnership was built there on the spot, and since then it’s been a good relationship. We helped their program, and they’ve worked with us multiple times every year since.”
Photo By Airman 1st Class Hunter Hires
