More than 30 military personnel and civil servants from the United States and nine partner nations attended Air Force Special Operations Command’s Building Partner Aviation Capacity Course at Hurlburt Field, Fla. The 12-day course concluded on Dec. 14, according to a Hurlburt release from the same day. The course is designed to create, nurture, and deepen partnerships with foreign militaries. During it, participants from Afghanistan, Angola, Cote d’Ivoire, the Dominican Republic, Germany, Mauritius, Paraguay, Rwanda, and Zambia embedded with US students from across the joint aviation community, states the release. “I learned that sometimes leaders use aviation to develop things that don’t have anything to do with the military or even aviation,” said Lt. Col. Gabriel Medina, Dominican Republic Air Force Academy vice commander, of his course experience. He added, “For example, aviation can be used as a tool to build tourism, which is the largest source of revenue in my country.” (Hurlburt report by SrA. Melanie Holochwost)
Billy Mitchell: Lessons a Hundred Years Hence
Dec. 16, 2025
Exactly 100 years ago, on Dec. 17, 1925, Brig. Gen. Billy Mitchell was convicted by court-martial for violating an order that required approval before he could engage with the media. Mitchell’s provocative thoughts and unorthodox methods sought attention for a cause that he saw as uniquely American.
