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German youth officers visit

  • Published
  • By 2nd Lt. Karoline Scott
  • 375th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. --  A group of German Youth Information Officers, or Bundeswehr, arrived at Scott Air Force Base Oct. 19 to learn first hand about the U.S. Air Force. The 44 visiting officers, all company-grade level equivalents, serve a key public affairs role for their military.

“The primary duty of these individuals is to spearhead spreading information to schools and universities throughout Germany about national and international security and defense issues” said Col. Axel Hecht, head of the Federal Republic of Germany’s military Public Relations branch and accompaniment to the youth officers on their visit.

Currently, there are 94 Youth Information Officers working throughout Germany. “These positions very important and prestigious” said Colonel Hecht, “applicants for the job go through a stringent selection process.” Typically, individuals serve as Youth Information Officers for a period of three years.

Since 1982, these officers take an annual trip to the U.S. during their first year in the job. This helps them understand U.S. foreign, defense, and security policies.

“A significant reason for the annual visit is to confront the officers as early as possible so they have a better understanding about how important the U.S. role is in the world today” said Colonel Hecht.

Before heading to Scott, this year’s two-week U.S. tour began with cites in and around Washington D.C. and in New York City. They included the German Embassy, the National Security Council, the German Historic Institute, the U.S. Naval Academy, and the United Nations headquarters building.

The St. Louis area was the final stop for these young officers. At Scott, the tour consisted of a walk-through of a KC-135, a visit to Heritage Hall, AMC and TACC briefings, and lunch at the Scott Club with 375th Airlift Wing Vice Commander Col. Richard Klumpp and more than 30 of Scott’s own company grade officers.

About the visit, Colonel Klumpp said, “This is a wonderful way for us to see how close the ties are between these two great countries.”

Emphasizing the importance of the officers’ visit to Scott, tour organizer Maj. Norman Czubaj of the Air Mobility Command said “their journey to Scott helps the German Youth Information Officers better understand key pieces of the Department of Defense. They learn not only the AMC mission but what AMC does to benefit the U.S. and the world.”

“Visiting U.S. military installations helps us tremendously with our jobs because most German youth no little about the armed forces. We must explain all of this for them. It is important for us to know what we ware teaching. We can now say that we were in the U.S. and learned first hand what their military is all about,” said Matthias Jaeger, 1st lieutenant from the Bundeswher. The German Youth Officers are not the only ones who benefited from this experience.

“For many CGOs here at Scott, this is the first interaction they will have with international officers. Visits like this make it easier for us to work together in the future” said Capt. Jennifer Maceda, 375 AW legal office, one of the key organizers of the visit.

The trip to Scott was a great experience for all- German and U.S. military alike. “This year’s trip Scott was really brilliant one of the highlights of our U.S. visit,” said Colonel Hecht in his closing remarks.