Last week, Major General Schick, Commander EATC, visited the 2022 edition of the European Tactical Airlift Program Training (ETAP-T) at Beja Airbase.
He was enthused about what he saw. “What an excellent training organized by European Tactical Airlift Center (ETAC)! My full appreciation also to the Portuguese Air Force who hosted the training event in an outstanding manor. I was impressed to see eight participating nations with their eleven tactical transport aircraft – including support overall about 1000 personnel - training and sharing experience in a multinational environment. They were performing challenging and complex missions in a threat scenario, day & night. After the COVID imposed break this is essential training to get & maintain our crews combat ready.”
But to General Schick, “the flying part” is not everything! We also need to train and standardize the enablers in the supporting domains crucial for the overall mission success. I am proud of the engagement of my EATC personnel by supporting the exercise staff and offering additional dedicated training in these essential fields during the two weeks of ETAP-T. EATC’s harmonised ground handling procedures and the Combined Air Terminal Operations (CATO) program are driving factors to operate together. The EATC Ground Operations Manual (EGOM), sets the basis for harmonisation and standardisation even outside EATC’s nations’ air forces.”
The Commander EATC “truly believes that the future of air mobility lies in multinational cooperation among European Air Forces. EATC stays committed to offer and support multinational training efforts, including ground handling, and cross maintenance.”
Watch the whole interview with General Schick in our follow-on posts.