US, Polish air forces kick off Aviation Rotation 19-3

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Jimmie D. Pike
  • 86th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
POWIDZ AIR BASE, Poland --  Airmen assigned to the 37th Airlift Squadron kicked off Aviation Rotation (AvRot) 19-3 with C-130J Super Hercules operations over Powidz Air Base, Poland, July 10, 2019.

The rotation supports ongoing bilateral training between the U.S. Air Force and its Polish counterpart to maintain joint readiness and further partnerships. Airmen have supported this rotation since 2012.

“This rotation will consist of flight training along with operations and maintenance integration,” said U.S. Air Force Capt. Leland Quinter, 37th AS AvRot 19-3 mission commander. “The benefit of the entire exercise is that we get to see how we operate together and improve on that.”

Day one operations included cargo drops over the Powidz Air Base drop zone as well as combat offload maneuvers.

“One of our goals is to help the Polish air force add some of our combat offload procedures to their arsenal,” said Quinter. “We’ll start by showing them our process, then incorporate them into the procedure before finally having them do it on their own.”

Throughout the next two weeks, 37th AS operations will include personnel drops, cargo drops, an inter-fly exercise, and other operations.

“Our presence here in Europe and our participation in multinational exercises enhances our professional relationships with our allies,” said Quinter. “It also allows us to improve our coordination with partner militaries during times of crisis.”