The first three Singaporean weapons instructors graduated from the Singaporean Fighter Weapons Instructor Course at Mountain Home AFB, Idaho, earlier this month. F-15SG pilot Maj. Wang Kee Yong and weapons systems officers Capt. Alex Ong and Capt. Chia Chi Yu of the Republic of Singapore Air Force learned combat maneuvers and tactics during the course, which is modeled after the USAF Fighter Weapons School, according to a 366th Fighter Wing release. The head of the Singaporean air service, Maj. Gen. Mervyn Tan, and its Air Combat Command commander, Brig. Gen. Tommy Tan Ah Han, visited Mountain Home Aug. 17-20 to recognize the graduates. “They say ‘It takes a village to raise an Olympic champion’ but in this instance it took two air forces to graduate these three airmen,” said Lt. Col. Tham Yeow Min, the 428th FS senior ranking officer.
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.