South Carolina Air National Guard hosts Moroccan Air Force officials

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Stephen Hudson
  • 169th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
MCENTIRE JOINT NATIONAL GUARD BASE, S.C. --  The South Carolina Air National Guard hosted members of the Moroccan Air Force during a week-long tour of McEntire Joint National Guard Base. The two officers visited Sept. 27 through Oct. 1 to get a first-hand look at the F-16, which Morocco will soon fly.

McEntire was chosen because the Moroccan Air Force recently purchased Block 52 F-16s and those jets have many of the same capabilities as the Block 52s flown by the S.C. Air National Guard. Brig. Gen. Scott Williams, 169th Fighter Wing commander, welcomed the Moroccan Air Force officials to the base and after a brief presentation of the SCANG's history and mission, they toured the base's facilities and construction areas. The tour included numerous stops at the back shops such as Propulsion Maintenance, Base Operations and Life Support.

"It's a great opportunity for them to see the operations, support and training here at McEntire," said Army Lt. Col. Jeffrey T. Wyatt, Chief, Office of Security Cooperation at the U.S. Embassy in Rabat, Morocco. "They are learning from the best here in South Carolina."

Not only are the missions similar, but the operating budget and physical aspects of the new base in Morocco are very similar to McEntire, said Wyatt.

The Moroccans, who have a State Partnership Program with the Utah National Guard, are building a new base to house the aircraft. The tour of McEntire included ongoing and recently completed construction projects. The base is undergoing a number of massive construction projects including a new runway, ramp, and alert facilities.

"It's a little bit of everything here on base," Wyatt said.

In addition to touring Air National Guard facilities, the Moroccan officials toured the Army National Guard's Army Aviation Support Facility to get an overview of the Army Guard's aviation mission. The delegation also spent one day at Shaw Air Force Base in nearby Sumter to compare and contrast the differences between operations at the two bases.

Colonel Abdelhak Sanhaji said of the tour, "It's a lot of new information and very interesting for us."

Colonel Major Moha Ouadadouch received an orientation flight in the F-16 to view the aircraft's capabilities firsthand. He said the flight over the South Carolina skies was "very good."

"I have flown in a F-16 four times now," said Ouadadouch, this was the first time with the new avionics and he said he could feel the difference in the way the plane handled.

The partnership between South Carolina and Morocco began in January 2010 when the Utah Air National Guard refueled two SC ANG F-16s en route to the air show in Marrakech, Morocco.

The South Carolina Air National Guard was formed in December 1946 and today is made up of more than 1,200 members who train at McEntire Joint National Guard Base. In August, Airmen from the 169th Fighter Wing returned from a 120-day AEF deployment in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.