Building capable allies, strong bonds the Arizona Air Guard teaches United States allies to fly, fight, and win.(FEATURE ARTICLES)

Over European castles, Middle Eastern deserts, and Pacific islands, F-16 fighter pilots are soaring in ever-increasing numbers.

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Their landscapes, nationalities, and cultures are different, but they share several common bonds. They are allies and they are friends. They learned to fly their F-16s at an Air National Guard base in Arizona.

With more nations adding the F-16 to their fighter inventories, the need for pilot training increases; and air force pilots from all over the world are traveling to the 162nd Fighter Wing at Tucson International Airport to learn how to fly the multipurpose fighter.

 
   Our primary goal for international pilot training is to build a 
   foundation that will enable us all to carry out operations as 
   coalition partners, said Brig. Gen. Rick Moisio, Wing Commander. 
   And this wing has the people, equipment, and experience to do just 
   that. 

Roughly 1,700 Arizona Air Guardsmen at Tucson International Airport maintain and operate 70 F-16s for the purpose of training aspiring fighter pilots from current partners Poland, Singapore, Norway, Denmark, Bahrain, and the United Arab Emirates (U.A.E.).

 
   Over the last 19 years, the wing has trained more than 750 pilots 
   from 23 of the 24 nations that fly the F-16. It's a mission we know 
   very well, said General Moisio. Enhancing the air capabilities of 
   other nations is what we do; and as senior leaders often point out, 
   it's an undertaking of the utmost significance in our post Cold War 
   environment.