Enlisted leaders from air forces across the Indo-Pacific region gathered for the Inter-Pacific Air Forces Academy training at the Binnicker Professional Military Education Center on Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii from Nov. 11 – 22, 2024.
The training, which focuses on cross-cultural competency, resilience, leadership, and mission command, fosters multinational collaboration and strengthens partnerships in the Indo-Pacific. Participants engage in tailored professional development activities designed to meet their unique needs and prepare them for complex joint environments.
Royal Australian Air Force Warrant Officer Anita Godfrey, Pacific Air Forces IPAFA commandant, explained the origins of the program.
“The Inter-Pacific Air Forces Academy is a collaborative endeavor,” Godfrey said. “It was conceptualized during the Senior Enlisted Leader International Summit in 2022 as a way forward to professionally develop the multinational enlisted cadre operating in the Indo-Pacific region together. In 2023, the inaugural IPAFA program was successfully delivered. This year, we designed and delivered IPAFA’s second program, the Inter-Pacific Combined Enlisted Leader Forum.”
Godfrey elaborated the forum enables enlisted leaders to share insights and experiences with one another, identifying commonalities and differences. In turn, enhancing leadership capabilities while building networks among multinational participants.
“IPAFA aims to provide professional development programs that adapt to both the needs of the region and the participants,” explained Godfrey.
Republic of Singapore Air Force 2nd Warrant Officer Yudhish Jayakumaran, 605 Squadron training warrant officer, shared his perspective as a participant, describing the program as an eye-opening opportunity to collaborate with multinational enlisted leaders.
“The bonds we’ve formed here will undoubtedly strengthen our military partnerships,” Yudhish said. “Sharing our experiences and gaining new insights has helped us build strong cross-cultural relationships, which will aid us in leading in complex and evolving environments.”
A key component of IPAFA is its focus on fostering trust and communication among participants, even when faced with challenges like language barriers. Jayakumaran reflected on how the program fosters bonds and emphasizes the importance of working together.
“At the end of the day, we are all people from the force, and that’s what binds us together,” he said. “More importantly, I also feel that the course promotes interoperability between our forces in the Pacific region, where you are learning more about someone’s culture.”
Godfrey expanded on how they don’t all speak the same language, but find other ways to communicate, mirroring a real-world multinational operation.
“Not everyone in the program has the same level of English comprehension, and that was done by design,” Godfrey said. “Because in the real world, you’re not going to all speak the same language.”
Activities like resilience-building exercises emphasized collaboration under pressure. Participants worked together to construct models while navigating real-world barriers, such as one team member being unable to speak, another unable to see, another only speaking their native language, and another providing opposing arguments.
“That scenario was my fondest memory, because it gave us a sense of the many challenges and differences,” Yudhish shared. “But if we work together and we recognize strengths and weaknesses, we can get things done.”
The camaraderie built during the program extended beyond the classroom. Participants stayed together in dormitories, simulating the conditions of a joint mission.
“When living together, spending the whole time together, and eating together, it brings us closer,” Yudhish said. “It made a difference. You learn to rely on each other in ways that prepare you for real-world operations.”
The program’s success lies in its ability to bring together leaders from diverse nations and foster mutual understanding, strengthening alliances and partnerships.
“We are all wearing different uniforms, we operate in different environments, but there’s always commonality,” Yudhish said. “We all have that same mission of leadership, taking care of people, caring for people, leading them, and developing them.”
