California National Guard will support NAF

The Nigerian Airforce has been guaranteed that the California National Guard (CNG) of the United States of America (USA) will continue to assist it in improving the lethality of its missions.

Major General David Baldwin, the Adjutant General of the California National Guard (CNG), United States of America (USA), revealed this during a courtesy visit to Air Marshal Oladayo Amao, the Chief of the Air Staff (CAS), at Headquarters NAF, Abuja.

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General Baldwin stated that his organization is ready to assist the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) in the establishment of its Air-Ground Integration School as well as the capacity building of its instructors and staff.

He believes that this will help to improve the interoperability of airborne and ground systems while also increasing the lethality of NAF operations.

General Baldwin also stated his organization’s intention to assist the NAF in strengthening its safety plans and tactics, as well as work with the NAF in upgrading and enhancing its intelligence gathering capabilities.

General Baldwin stressed the importance of close monitoring of cyberspace in the context of cyber warfare, as it has recently become a new battleground for adversaries. As a result, he stressed the importance of improving NAF personnel’s capacity in cyber warfare sequencing and cyber engagement programs.

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General Baldwin remarked that the CNG supports female people to lead vital roles, and he encouraged the NAF to follow suit.
He went on to emphasize the importance of collaboration between CNG and NAF Senior Non-Commissioned Officers, particularly in the areas of leadership and command.

General Baldwin extended an invitation to the CAS to visit the CNG and stated that his organization would be happy to accept NAF technicians and operators at no cost to be embedded within the CNG to share ideas and boost capacity.

While greeting the Adjutant General, the CAS, represented by Air Vice Marshal Remigus Ekeh, Chief of Policy and Plans (COPP), expressed gratitude to the Adjutant General for the continuing support that Nigeria and the NAF have received from the US Government and its Armed Forces.

The delivery of the 12 A-Super Tucano aircraft, as well as the capacity building of NAF pilots, engineers, and Air-Ground Integration (AGI) professionals, is one of the recent consequences of the support, he noted.

AVM Ekeh further stated that the visit was in support of military-to-military cooperation between the United States and Nigeria, as well as the State of California Partnership Program with Nigeria, which has been in place since 2006 and will undoubtedly expand NAF’s existing partnership.

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AVM Ekeh went on to say that the collaboration has resulted in over 100 military-to-military bilateral engagements in areas such as military intelligence, counter-improvised explosive device training, combat medic, military aviation, military law, and disaster response/emergency management.

He went on to list a number of areas where the CNG and the NAF want to collaborate, including the provision of spares and technical assistance, training of NAF engineers and technicians in the maintenance of NAF C-130 Hercules aircraft, and the provision of firefighting equipment and training aids.

Finally, AVM Ekeh expressed gratitude for CNG’s continued support of NAF operational efforts in the battle against all forms of criminality in Nigeria.

Major General Baldwin was joined by the US Embassy Abuja’s Command Chief, Chief Master Sergeant Lynn Williams, the Commander’s Action Group, Lt Col Jorge Velez, and the Air Attaché, Lt Col Rob Faith. Branch Chiefs and chosen Directors from NAF Headquarters were present on the NAF side.