Foreign students fill airfield operations class

Published June 13, 2007
By Susan Griggs
81st Training Wing Public Affairs

KEESLER AIR FORCE BASE, Miss. -- It's a first for the 81st Training Group -- a class comprised entirely of foreign students.
The nine students in the 334th Training Squadron's four-month airfield operations flight officers course represent six countries -- Azerbaijan, Egypt, Poland, Saudi Arabia, Slovakia and South Korea. Four of the officers are Polish.

Working toward common goal

"A class with all international students is significant to us because it shows that countries, when they're willing, can work together to achieve a common goal," said master instructor David Reese. "As instructors, our main interest is to ensure proper training in a fun-to-train environment.

"Naturally, the students are looking forward to graduating and don't hesitate to help each other achieve that goal," Mr. Reese continued. "We enjoy watching these students interface with each other and work together to get through the academic and practical portions of the course."

It's the first time for all nine students to visit the U.S. They spent nine weeks at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas, for the specialized English course before coming to Keesler.
"It's always interesting to see international students in a classroom when the only thing they seem to have in common is English," Mr. Reese remarked. "We're always interested in learning about the cultural differences of the counties. It's enlightening to hear what our international students have to say about our culture and how well they get along together away from the base. All of them blend in very well."

Live, eat, study together

The students live on base, eat meals at the dining facilities and use the fitness centers. They can rent cars to visit surrounding areas in their free time.

"This country seems safe, with very nice people and not too expensive," said South Korean Capt. Dong Chul Lee. "I've been treated the same as U.S. officers."
"Actually, I understand English about 70 percent, and it hasn't become a problem so far," he added.

Captain Lee's wife, Jina Lim, and their 20-month-old daughter, Yoonseo Lee, came with him and live off-base.

When he learned that he'd be coming to the United States to train, Polish Capt. Dariusz Czyk was excited.

"I wanted to go and try something different -- different country, different people, different aviation rules," he explained. "At the very beginning, it was difficult sometimes, but now almost everything is OK. I've been treated in a very polite way, and everyone is extremely helpful."

"People here are pretty friendly and open to foreign people," Polish 2nd Lt. Michal Bromowicz observed. "But it's very difficult to live here without a car, because public transportation isn't that good. And I thought that since Americans love to eat, the food would be better."

America is very much like what Egyptian Capt. Mohamed Mahmoud Salama and Saudi Arabian 1st Lt. Salman Salem Al Amri had expected.

"I found nice people, and I've enjoyed time in beautiful places," Captain Salama said. "People here like foreigners and like to talk with us and exchange ideas, culture and traditions."

Lieutenant Al Amri has encountered a few language problems, "especially when I go to a restaurant and order something to eat." He also expressed some concerns about being in Mississippi during hurricane season.

Polish 1st Lts. Dariusz Wadowski and Maciej Ruszek commented on the signs of destruction still obvious after Hurricane Katrina struck the area nearly 22 months ago.
"There is still a lot of damage," Lieutenant Wadowski said, to which Mr. Reese replied, "You should have seen this place right after the storm -- there have been big improvements since then."

Lieutenants Wadowski and Ruszek said they've enjoyed the friendly people at Keesler, but complained about the long lines and monotonous food selections at the dining facilities.

The chance to train in the U.S. presented a dilemma for 1st. Lt. Marek Oravec from Slovakia.

"It was a great challenge that I had been waiting for," he pointed out. "On the other hand, I had to leave my wife alone with two small children. She didn't jump for joy, really. I hoped I could arrange for them to come with me, and I'm very disappointed that they couldn't."
"I was happy to come to the United States for training," 1st Lt. Yasin Abbasaliyev from Azerbaijan. "It's a good chance to learn English and more about American culture. People here are polite to me, and I respect them."