Chief 
of Staff General Norton Schwartz and his Polish air force counterpart Lt. Gen. Lech Majewski signed the Military Personnel Exchange Program memorandum of understanding at a ceremony in Warsaw this week during Schwartz’s official visit to Poland. Under the agreement, the two nations’ air arms will exchange military officers, according to a release from the US embassy in Warsaw on May 30, the day of the signing. “MPEP promotes mutual understanding and trust, enhances interoperability, strengthens air force-to-air force ties, and develops long-term professional and personal relationships,” states the release. Air Force spokeswoman Jennifer Cassidy told the Daily Report on May 31 that the agreement calls for three reciprocal exchanges initially: one C-130 maintenance officer, one F-16 maintenance officer, and one logistics-readiness officer. The USAF airmen—captains according to the embassy release—are expected to be in place, along with their families, at Powidz Air Base and Krzesiny Air Base in Poland by the end of 2013. Their Polish counterparts are scheduled to be at Luke AFB, Ariz., and Pope Field, N.C., within that same timeframe. (See also Polish defense ministry release and Falcons among White Eagles.)
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.