NATO reserve officers hone leadership skills

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Nicole Sikorski
  • 86th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
RAMSTEIN AIR BASE, Germany --  More than 70 guard and reserve officers from NATO-allied countries came together for the annual  International Junior Officer Leadership Development Course July 18 through 25.

Reserve officers from the U.S., Canada, the United Kingdom, Netherlands, Denmark, Germany and Switzerland gathered at Ramstein for the week-long event.

The course involved lectures in international leadership, team building exercises, cultural diversity, military officership, international relations and cross-cultural mobilization issues.

"NATO (is comprised) of 28 members who all have different cultures," said German air force Maj. Frank Gagel, Franco-German Brigade officer. "It is important to communicate with each other and build friendships because you may not only see these people now, but also down the road in your career."

In addition to the classroom portion of the course, IJOLD offered leadership seminars and a military heritage tour in Bastogne, Belgium.

While sharing the experience of working with their multinational counterparts, participants were not only tested mentally, but also physically during a training exercise with the 435th Security Forces Squadron.

The 435th SFS trained the officers on range estimation, memorization exercises, heavy weapons familiarization and size, activity, location, unit, time and equipment reporting procedures. 

"The IJOLD exercise is a great opportunity to get to know our NATO allies and train in field conditions with them," said U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Jordan Lucey, 435th SFS contingency response team member.  "The relationships developed during their course are invaluable to the sustained success of all of our contingency operations all over the world."

IJOLD is held annually in a different NATO country each year.