Personnel from the U.S. Pacific Air Force's Thirteenth Air Force, Andersen Air Force Base Guam, traveled to Bangladesh in June 1997 to participate in a small-scale Cooperative Engagement Program. The Thirteenth Air Force Cooperative Engagement Program seeks to increase openness and mutual understanding, increase stability in the region, and to foster better working relationships between air forces of the Asia-Pacific region and the U.S., believing these efforts will pay dividends in future exercises or contingency operations. This particular program focused on safety and maintenance procedures.

Four U.S. Air Force (USAF) officers and three NCOs with safety and maintenance specialties made up the USAF team. During their stay, the team met with senior Bangladesh Air Force (BAF) officers including: Air Commodore Shamsher Ali, BAF Assistant Chief of Air Staff; Air Commodore Khasrul Alam, commander of BAF Air Base Basher; and Air Commodore Rahman, commander of BAF Air Base Matiur Rahman.

Following a visit to the BAF Flight Safety Institute, the team participated in safety discussions with BAF pilots and maintenance experts. Discussion topics included the USAF's new Risk Management Program, bird air-strike hazard avoidance, mid-air collision avoidance, controlled flight into terrain avoidance, weapons safety, fire prevention and traffic safety. Participants discovered great similarities between the BAF and USAF safety programs.

The Americans, however, learned of two BAF safety programs not practiced by the USAF: first, BAF pilots are checked by a physician each morning, including a heart rate and blood pressure check, regardless of how they feel. Secondly, BAF safety personnel brief spouses of BAF pilots quarterly, identifying lifestyle activities that could compromise the pilots' abilities to fly safely.

The aircraft maintenance discussions covered corrosion control, aircraft washing, flight line safety, aircraft crash recovery, and foreign object damage avoidance. The USAF team was allowed to walk through the maintenance shops and interact with BAF maintenance personnel at work. Both compared maintenance procedures and practices, exchanging useful ideas.

Maj. Steve Cilea, a USAF T-37 instructor pilot on the team, discussed the T-37 trainer aircraft with his BAF counterparts. The BAF had recently acquired 12 of the trainers and were interested in the prevention of G-induced loss of consciousness, since the T-37 has one of the fastest G onset rates of any aircraft.

Group Capt. Zearat, BAF Director of Flight Safety, expressed a desire to continue the relationship with USAF safety personnel in a future visit, and requested USAF safety magazines, videos and other information.

One of the highlights of the visit occurred on a Friday afternoon when Wing Cmdr. Mizanur Rahman Bhuiyan, supply squadron commander for BAF Air Base Basher, and Flight Lt. Assad and Flight Lt. Mahmood, both F-7 pilots, took the USAF team to the BAF officer's mess at Air Base Khurmitola. There the Americans enjoyed lunch and played some spirited "crud," a common fighter pilot game played on a billiard table. Capt. William Wieninger, Team Chief for the U.S. contingent, said the afternoon was "a rare opportunity for lower ranking individuals from both air forces to build personal relationships and to improve their knowledge and understanding of each other's systems."

As a contribution to ongoing cooperation and exchanges between Bangladesh and the U.S., this Cooperative Engagement visit was a complete success. Thirteenth Air Force's program encourages peaceful cooperation and contributes to better working relationships between U.S. and other air forces of the Asia-Pacific region.