Turkish officers get lessons in enlisted training at Barnes Published Feb. 19, 2009 By Carl Bergquist Air University Public Affairs MAXWELL AIR FORCE BASE, Ala. -- Four members of the Turkish air force visited Gunter's Barnes Center for Enlisted Education complex Feb. 12 to gain ideas about how to improve their air force's enlisted education. The group headed by Col. Metin Ozdemir included Lt. Col. Cem Acar, Maj. Huesyin Uysal and Lt. Eyup Has, and according to their Pentagon escort, Maj. Eric Hauff, they "enjoyed their visit." "The purpose of the visit is enlisted force development training," Major Hauff said. "They are utilizing the U.S. Air Force as a model to develop their own enlisted education program." Colonel Acar, speaking for the Turkish delegation, said his country is trying to refine their military education systems, and the group wanted to see the enlisted education and training programs at Gunter. "I'm very pleased to be here because we have a close relationship with the United States, and our military system is very close to yours," he said. "I am very impressed with the Community College of the Air Force, as it is a very good program for enlisted members. I will be happy to inform my superiors about what we have seen here." The colonel said he has been to the U.S. before, but for the rest of the delegation, the trip was their first visit. He said military life in the U.S. is different from Turkey, and he was "very impressed" with everything he had seen. "We have found everyone we have met to be very helpful," Colonel Acar said. "They all have tried to do their best for us, and we have felt very much at home." Major Uysal added the group learned a lot about education - especially certifications - from their visit, and he felt the information would be useful to the Turkish air force. "I think in my country we may hopefully use these lessons in our training system," he said. "I think the Senior NCO Academy is very useful, and we may establish a similar academy in our air force." Colonel Acar said he found everyone to be very dedicated to their jobs, and he was especially impressed by the fact that instructors seemed to care as much about their students' welfare as caring about what they learned. He said he felt instructors were not just filling students' heads but also filling their hearts. In addition, he deemed the distance learning programs to be quite important. "Being able to broadcast your experiments everywhere for the benefit of others in the Air Force is really good," he said. Chief Master Sgt. Charles Webber, Barnes Center for Enlisted Education director of staff, said center personnel were delighted to have the Turkish officers at Gunter. He felt their visit had "gone great," and the officers gained a lot from it. "They want to improve their enlisted force and were amazed by CCAF, our schools and our curriculum," he said. "They asked all the right questions and were glued to every briefing. They are definitely walking away with more than they asked for." The tour of Barnes Center included a center mission briefing; a meeting with educational program cadre members; lunch at Gunter's Aviation Inn; a CCAF mission briefing; and tours of the SNCOA and Enlisted Heritage Hall. The group departed Feb. 13 for their nearly 40-hour return trip to Turkey.