Two Reserve C-130s and about 70 airmen touched down this week in Romania for two weeks of training with the host country. The airmen and aircraft from the 908th Airlift Wing at Maxwell AFB, Ala., landed on Sunday as an extension of the National Guard’s state partnership program with Romania. The Alabama Air National Guard’s 187th Fighter Wing deployed last month to conduct F-16 maintenance training with Romania. The Romanians “are great people, who are interested and excited to learn what they can about flying and maintaining F-16s, as they make the transition to flying the same aircraft we do,” 187th Fighter Wing Vice Commander Col. William Sparrow said in a release. “Now that the 908th is joining this partnership we’ll look for ways we can work together, perhaps with joint visits, to further strengthen US ties with Romania.”
Amid NATO’s continued push to ramp up air defenses in Eastern Europe, Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall swung by seven allied countries to boost relations last week, including those on Russia’s and Ukraine’s doorstep.