FAIRCHILD AIR FORCE BASE, Wash. -- I’m Captain Brian Klazura, a KC-135 Instructor Pilot in the 93rd Air Refueling Squadron. I served as an aircraft commander for the mission that went to Santa Lucia Airport in Mexico to participate in Feria Aeroespacial Mexico “FAMEX 2021.”
FAMEX is considered the largest airshow and tradeshow in Latin America. This year, Mexico named the United States the “Country of Honor,” a designation that signified partnership and cooperation between both countries.
At my first KC-135 assignment, I applied for the Language Enabled Airmen Program (LEAP). This program deliberately develops language-enabled, cross-cultural Airmen and Guardians with working-level foreign language proficiency.
With my experience in the LEAP program and my undergraduate degree in Foreign Area Relations focusing on Latin America, I initially gained my Spanish language skills and love for learning about different cultures. My first assignment at RAF Mildenhall allowed me to meet and interact with other KC-135 “LEAPsters,” many of whom coincidently are stationed here at Fairchild AFB as their second assignment. These unique relationships were originally how the 92 ARW received a request to participate in FAMEX 2021.
FAMEX was a fantastic opportunity to showcase the diverse Airmen that the 92nd ARW has and the interoperability we as Team Fairchild possess. It was a truly unique experience to see how excited the Mexican people were when learning about Fairchild and its mission; many of them had never seen a KC-135 before.
Fairchild’s KC-135 was one of two U.S. Air Force planes on display and the only one giving tours. The 92nd ARW exhibited that we are the most extensive tanker base globally that can send a KC-135 anywhere in the world when needed. I am incredibly proud of the eleven crew members that participated in FAMEX 21, who took the responsibility of being ambassadors for the U.S. Air Force and the 92nd ARW seriously.