Skip to main content (Press Enter).
 News
    
        Photos

    Week in Photos

    Air Force TV

    Commentaries

    Features

    Art

    About Us
    
        Air Force Senior Leaders
    
        SECAF

    CSAF

    CMSAF

    Biographies

    Fact Sheets

    SECAF Reading List

    CSAF Leadership Library
    
        CSAF Leadership Library 2022

    CSAF Leadership Library 2021

    CSAF Reading List Pre-2020 Archive
    
        2018 CSAF Reading List

    2017 CSAF Reading List

    2016 CSAF Reading List

    CSAF Leadership Library 2023

    CMSAF Leadership Library

    50 Years of the CMSAF

    Adjunct Professors

    Air Force Strategic Documents

    Arctic Strategy

    Empowered Airmen

    State Licensure Portability

    Careers

    AF Federal Advisory Committees

    AF 75th Anniversary

    Policy Updates

    AF Content Management

    Contact Us

    AF Sites
    
        Site RegistrationU.S. Air Force LogoAir Force

        Policy UpdatesNewsroomReoptimizationBIOGRAPHIESAF Senior Leaders      JB Charleston benefits from Military Personnel Exchange ProgramPublished June 27, 2020
                    
                    By Airman 1st Class Cory Davis
                    
                    
                    Joint Base Charleston Public Affairs
            **JOINT BASE CHARLESTON, S.C. (AFNS) --**Polish air force Capt. Marcin Smurawa, an aircraft maintenance officer, is a member of the Military Personnel Exchange Program, which allows him to serve as a fuels management flight commander for the 628th Logistics Readiness Squadron at Joint Base Charleston.
The exchange program is a two-year course that personnel from NATO are able to participate in at bases across the U.S. Air Force.
Smurawa said when he saw the application released by authorities in Poland, he decided to apply and has learned a great deal since arriving at JB Charleston.
“I have always been interested in logistics,” Smurawa said. “I'm sure that the U.S. Air Force is the best place to understand how military logistics should look. What I would like to understand is how this career field works and what is possible for the Polish air force to adopt. That will increase both our efficiency and interoperability with our partners.”
Smurawa added he is most interested in learning how U.S. Air Force logisticians cooperate with maintenance while working for mutual success and learning from one another.
“I think myself and the Polish air force will benefit most from this program because the U.S. Air Force is the largest in NATO,” he added. “This is a huge organization that can handle business in a specific way that is easier and cheaper. We, as partners of the U.S., can benefit the most by looking for ways to improve our business and learning how to avoid failure and overcome shortfalls. We will be able to improve our air force as well as better cooperate with our partners during exercises and missions. I can also learn a lot about the understanding of leadership and mentoring. As a flight commander, I can learn to be a better manager and how my Airmen can do their best.”
The exchange program not only allows members of NATO militaries to be integrated into the U.S. military, it also allows members from the U.S. military to integrate into NATO militaries.
“There are also members from the U.S. Air Force that are taking part in this program,” Smurawa said. “Even in Poland, I've met two of them. U.S. Airmen benefit from this program also.”
Master Sgt. Douglas Braden, 628th LRS fuels management flight superintendent, described his experience working with Capt. Smurawa at JB Charleston as unique.
“A benefit to having Capt. Smurawa in LRS and fuels is having a representative from another country come in and see the way we do business,” Braden said. “He’s able to see things through a different lens while providing insight on how their country does the process. It allows us to have a bilateral sharing of best practices that most places don’t see. Captain Smurawa is intelligent. He gets our processes and operations here in the fuels flight. It's really neat to have a situation to be able to train and mentor a Polish exchange officer, and it's pretty cool to be able to take what we've given them here and use it at their respective bases in Poland.”
Braden added his time with Smurawa has been short but memorable.
“His leadership and outside the box thinking helps us leverage our personnel for awards,” Braden said. “We're winning awards for our guys and he's one of the people that helped mold that.”USAF 



AF 



Air Force 



Military Personnel Exchange Program 



Joint Base Charleston 



Polish air force 



NATO 



628th Logistics Readiness Squadron 



logistics 



Fuels 



fuels management 



AFWN Featured News
        Senior Leader Priorities
                DAF leaders talk budget, reoptimizing the force
                    
                    DAF leaders speak at National Character and Leadership Symposium
                    
                    DAF members recognized during BEYA STEM awards
                    
                    DAF senior enlisted advisors discuss Airmen, Guardians in the fight
                    
                    SecAF Kendall AFA Warfare Symposium Q&A: Reoptimizing for Great Power CompetitionInnovation
                AFWERX director discusses role of tech startups, quick innovation in Great Power Competition
                    
                    DAF delivers lethality at the speed of data during Project Convergence Capstone 4
                    
                    DAF welcomes industry partners to HQ development program
                    
                    DAF announces Spark Tank 2024 finalists
                    
                    Chief Digital, Artificial Intelligence Office to host hackathon in HawaiiMAJCOM News
                Safety enterprise announces new mission, vision, goals in 2024 strategic plan
                    
                    Air Combat Command welcomes new commander
                    
                    USAFE-AFAFRICA commander discusses Integrated Air, Missile Defense during Munich Security Conference
                    
                    Flosi to AFMC family: Embrace change, make every day count
                    
                    AMC rises to increasing global tension
 Quick Links
AccessibilityContact UsEqual OpportunityFOIA | Privacy | Section 508Information QualityInspector GeneralJAG Court-Martial DocketLink DisclaimerNo FEAR ActOpen GovernmentOSI Tip LinePlain LanguageQuestionsResilienceRSSSite MapVeterans Crisis LineCareers
Join the Air ForceAir Force BenefitsAir Force CareersAir Force ReserveAir National GuardCivilian ServiceConnect
            Get Social with Us
            
            Official United States Air Force Website
    Hosted by Defense Media Activity - WEB.mil