F16’s in Serbia

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Sarah Gregory
  • 31st Fighter Wing Public Affairs
AVIANO AIR BASE, Italy --  Two Aviano F-16 pilots and a handful of Aviano maintenance and security forces members met with members of the Serbian air force during a visit to Batajnica Air Base, Republic of Serbia, June 22-23. 

“The visit was to further NATO and Serbian relations and help make us more familiar with one another,” said Maj. Andrew Wiles 555th Fighter Squadron pilot. “We went to establish good military to military relations and put the past war behind us.” 

The maintenance and security personnel arrived in Serbia June 21 to ensure the airfield and equipment were suitable for the F-16s arrival and to provide information to their Serbian counterparts on security and maintenance issues. 

During the two-day visit, Aviano mechanics met with the Serbian maintainers and learned about each other’s aircraft. 

“We talked to the maintainers and compared what they do on their MiGs to what we do on the F-16’s,” said Staff Sgt. Anthony Kasper, 31st Aircraft Maintenance Squadron. “It was kind of like a show and tell.” 

The pilots also got a chance to discover a bit about their Serbian counterparts.
“Really we learned that the Serbian pilots are just like any other pilot,” said Major Wiles. “The treated us well and we had a good exchange of knowledge where we got to learn how they ran their business and we told them how we run ours.” 

One obstacle the U.S. and Serbian military faced was they didn’t speak the same language. 

“There was a big language barrier, especially when a translator wasn’t around,” said Sergeant Kasper. “Some of their officers spoke decent English so that helped.”
Both sides overcame the language difficulties by sharing their experiences and knowledge and getting a chance to actually sit down and learn about each other.
In Sergeant Kasper’s case, he said the Serbian maintainers left him impressed. 

“They had MiG 21s and 29s, which were pretty cool to see and their [aircraft] maintainer’s guys are very knowledgeable and sharp.” 

Although there are no more trips to Serbia currently planned, Sergeant Kasper said he would definitely go back if given the chance. 

“You can always learn something from trips like these,” he said. “It was a once in a lifetime opportunity and visits to other countries can always open your eyes to other cultures and how they do things.” 

The visit was the first visit by tactical U.S. Air Force aircraft to Serbia since 1999. One of the trip participants remembers being stationed at here as an airman 1st class with the 555th Fighter Squadron in 1999 during Operation Allied Force. 

“I was here when we did the Kosovo thing, so it was interesting that we got to see what we did and hear their take on the situation,” said Staff Sgt. Anthony Kasper, 31st Aircraft Maintenance Squadron crew chief. “I remember that day they shot down our 555th Fighter Squadron aircraft. It was kinda weird seeing the photos they had in their aviation museum.” 

The experience was designed to strengthen the ties between the two countries. Sergeant Kasper admits to feeling a bit apprehensive about being there because he wasn’t sure of the reception they would receive. 

“It definitely wasn’t what I was expecting,” said Sergeant Kasper. “They were more friendly and pleasant than I expected and once we got to talk they started to warm up.”