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	IAAFA leaders attend Paraguayan Air Force centennial celebration
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        <h1 class="title">IAAFA leaders attend Paraguayan Air Force centennial celebration</h1>
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            <img src="https://media.defense.gov/2023/Mar/22/2003187431/1920/1080/0/230222-F-F3570-1001.JPG"
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                 alt="Mario Abdo Benitez, President of Paraguay, pins Col. José Jiménez, Jr., Commandant of the  Inter-American Air Forces Academy, with the Medal of Honor for the Centennial Commemoration of the Paraguayan Air Force in Asunción, Paraguay, Feb. 22, 2023. Benitez greeted senior members of visiting delegations and pinned each of them with the medal of honor to commemorate the anniversary. (Courtesy Photo)"
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            <div class="image-title">IAAFA leaders attend Paraguayan Air Force centennial celebration</div>
            <div class="image-caption">Mario Abdo Benitez, President of Paraguay, pins Col. José Jiménez, Jr., Commandant of the  Inter-American Air Forces Academy, with the Medal of Honor for the Centennial Commemoration of the Paraguayan Air Force in Asunción, Paraguay, Feb. 22, 2023. Benitez greeted senior members of visiting delegations and pinned each of them with the medal of honor to commemorate the anniversary. (Courtesy Photo)</div>
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                 alt="Military members parachute into the Central Ceremony of the Centennial Paraguayan Military Aviation while military members stand at attention in Asunción, Paraguay, Feb. 22, 2023. Senior leaders from 10 countries attended the event to honor Paraguayan Air Force’s Centennial Anniversary. (Courtesy photo)"
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            <div class="image-title">IAAFA leaders attend Paraguayan Air Force centennial celebration</div>
            <div class="image-caption">Military members parachute into the Central Ceremony of the Centennial Paraguayan Military Aviation while military members stand at attention in Asunción, Paraguay, Feb. 22, 2023. Senior leaders from 10 countries attended the event to honor Paraguayan Air Force’s Centennial Anniversary. (Courtesy photo)</div>
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                 alt="U.S. Air Force leaders Brig. Gen. Sean Choquette, 12th Air Force, Col. José Jiménez, Jr., Inter-American Air Forces Academy commandant, and Brig. Gen. Virginia Gaglio, Massachusetts Air National Guard, stand at attention beside other senior leaders at the Centennial Commemoration of the Paraguayan Air Force in Asunción, Paraguay, Feb. 22, 2023. Senior leaders from 10 countries attended the event to honor Paraguayan Air Force’s Centennial Anniversary. (Courtesy photo)"
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            <div class="image-title">IAAFA leaders attend Paraguayan Air Force centennial celebration</div>
            <div class="image-caption">U.S. Air Force leaders Brig. Gen. Sean Choquette, 12th Air Force, Col. José Jiménez, Jr., Inter-American Air Forces Academy commandant, and Brig. Gen. Virginia Gaglio, Massachusetts Air National Guard, stand at attention beside other senior leaders at the Centennial Commemoration of the Paraguayan Air Force in Asunción, Paraguay, Feb. 22, 2023. Senior leaders from 10 countries attended the event to honor Paraguayan Air Force’s Centennial Anniversary. (Courtesy photo)</div>
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            <img src="https://media.defense.gov/2023/Mar/22/2003187434/1920/1080/0/230222-F-F3570-1004.JPG"
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                 alt="Mario Abdo Benitez, President of Paraguay, holds a token from the Inter-American Air Forces Academy. President Benitez is flanked by Chief Master Sgt. Yusef Saad, IAAFA Senior Enlisted Leader, Gen. Arturo González Ocampo, Commander of the Paraguayan Air Force, and Col. José Jiménez, Jr., IAAFA commandant, in Asunción, Paraguay, Feb. 22, 2023. The senior leaders attended the Paraguayan Air Force’s Centennial Anniversary in Asunción, Paraguay. (Courtesy photo)"
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            <div class="image-title">IAAFA leaders attend Paraguayan Air Force centennial celebration</div>
            <div class="image-caption">Mario Abdo Benitez, President of Paraguay, holds a token from the Inter-American Air Forces Academy. President Benitez is flanked by Chief Master Sgt. Yusef Saad, IAAFA Senior Enlisted Leader, Gen. Arturo González Ocampo, Commander of the Paraguayan Air Force, and Col. José Jiménez, Jr., IAAFA commandant, in Asunción, Paraguay, Feb. 22, 2023. The senior leaders attended the Paraguayan Air Force’s Centennial Anniversary in Asunción, Paraguay. (Courtesy photo)</div>
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    <div><b>By Vanessa R. Adame</b> <span class="date">/ Published March 23, 2023</span></div>
    <span class="dateline-text">JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-LACKLAND, Texas , </span>
    <p>Inter-American Air Forces Academy leaders joined Paraguay’s top military officials to commemorate the Paraguayan Air Force’s Centennial Anniversary Feb. 21-24.</p>

<p>Col. José Jiménez, Jr., IAAFA commandant and Chief Master Sgt. Yusef Saad, IAAFA Senior Enlisted Leader, joined officials from Twelfth Air Force and the Massachusetts Air National Guard, as well as leaders from across Latin America for the three-day event.</p>

<p>Paraguay’s President Mario Abdo Benitez and hundreds of military members attended the Central Ceremony of the Centennial Paraguayan Military Aviation. There, President Benitez greeted senior members of visiting delegations and pinned each of them with the Medal of Honor for the Centennial Commemoration of the Paraguayan Air Force.</p>

<p>“It was an honor to represent the Academy because the medal represented the relationship that IAAFA has played in the success of the Paraguayan Air Force,” Jiménez said. “And the trust that not only the Air Force, but the entire country has in an organization as small as ours to help them grow and continue to meet the challenges of tomorrow.”</p>

<p>IAAFA leaders exchanged gifts with Gen. Arturo González Ocampo, Commander of the Paraguayan Air Force, and met with other senior leaders from the country’s air force – many of them wearing IAAFA wings to symbolize their IAAFA graduation.  </p>

<p>“There’s a lot to be said about an organization that’s 80 years old and the relationship that we continue to have with an organization that’s 100 years old,” Jiménez said. “It is worth celebrating, not just for the organization, but for the grand scheme of security cooperation.”</p>
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