Airmen, Soldiers participate in opening day of aerospace trade expo in South Africa

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Austin M. May
  • USAFE/AFAFRICA public affairs
WATERKLOOF AIR FORCE BASE, South Africa --   A team of U.S. Air Force Airmen and U.S. Army Soldiers took part in the opening day activities of the Africa Aerospace & Defence Exposition 2014 Sept. 17, 2014, in South Africa as part of an ongoing effort to strengthen the partnership between the two nations.

The total force helped to open the first day of the event, held at Waterkloof Air Force Base, Pretoria, South Africa. The first three days of the five-day  event are scheduled to be a trade show for defense officials from various nations and vendors in the industry. The final two days will be an air show open to the public. This year, the exposition is dedicated to the memory of Nelson Mandela, according to Nosiviwe Noluthando Mapisa-Nqakula, South African Minister of Defence and Military Veterans.

"This gives us a great opportunity to come down to South Africa to work alongside our partners to renew the relationships that we already have, and to build new relationships," said Col. Randy Huston, United States air boss. "South Africa is a major player, and this gives us the opportunity to work together, learn from each other and build a regional expertise."

The team was composed of Airmen and Soldiers, including the U.S. Army's Golden Knights parachute demonstration team, which participated in the opening ceremony of the exposition. The United States Air Forces in Europe band Wings of Dixie is scheduled to appear at the event on the days during which it is open to the general public.

On display were a C-130J Super Hercules from Ramstein Air Base, Germany, a New York Air National Guard C-17 Globemaster III and a U.S. Army RQ-7 Shadow remotely piloted aircraft. The cargo aircraft were opened to allow visitors to enter and ask questions of the aircrews.

Colonel Huston said the kickoff event was a good indicator of strong future bonds between South Africa, the United States and other potential coalition partners.

"It really makes me feel good that we're a total partner here," he said. "We're working together in tandem to do good things for the continent of Africa."

The AADE 2014 is scheduled to run from Sept. 17 to 22.