The Change Brokers - Air Force

A group of Americans help to boost U.S.-Chilean military ties

As he switched the cell phone from one ear to the other, Lt. Col. Dana Willis kicked back in his chair. He loosened his tie a bit and ran his hand through his sandy-blond hair. He talked in accented, but good Spanish, and jotted notes on a pad.

Promising his caller he'd get back with an answer soon, he bid "adios." He hung up and scribbled more notes. A moment later, his desk phone rang. Minutes later, he told the caller he'd have an answer to him by that afternoon. More notes went on the pad.

Being a slave to his phone is something Willis has learned to live with. He's on the phone dozens of times a day. But that's OK with him.

"You gotta know what's going on," he said. "It's the only way to stay ahead of the game."

The "game" Willis plays is a key one. As Air Force section chief for the U.S. Military Group in Santiago, he's the United States' direct link to the Chilean air force. He brokers nearly all dealings between the two air forces. And that means adapting to change.

That's not always easy, said Willis, a tanker navigator. But he said this desk job in Chile's capital has been the most challenging of his 20-year career.

"You juggle two bureaucracies, languages and cultures," he said. "On the surface, many things are alike. But scratch down a bit, and there's a world of difference."

The group tries to make the differences go away. Based at the American embassy, it has an Air Force commander. There are Army and Navy section chiefs, a foreign area officer and a noncommissioned officer in charge of operations.

The task at hand

Most countries have U.S. military groups or like agencies. They work for U.S. theater commanders and act as their envoys to the U.S. ambassador. Chile's reports to U.S. Southern Command in Miami.

It manages security assistance programs and special activities with Chile's military. These include programs to sell, finance and donate military items. The Chilean air force, for example, is buying American F-16 Fighting Falcons and night-vision goggles.

Other help includes counterdrug and humanitarian aid. But most contacts involve exchanges, exercises and deployments. There are a host of programs to do that. Some are simple one-on-one exchanges. Others are more involved.

Willis said people-to-people contacts are the group's bread and butter (See "A Bit of Give and Take," April '01). The two countries send service members to each other's technical schools, professional military education courses, war colleges and service academies. They swap troops for duty in each other's armed forces.

The aim is to beef up military ties. It's a way for the nations to build confidence in each other's military. And a way to swap information that's key to security in the region. Chile's group deals with military sales, training and military-to-military events.

"We have simple goals," said Col. Alex Trujillo, group commander. "Get the Chileans to understand how our military works, and our people to learn how they work."

Groups have worked in Latin America for decades. They want to make them strong U.S. allies. And more aware of U.S. foreign policy and human rights concerns, Trujillo said.

In Chile's case, the group wants to prepare troops for a more active role in U.N. peacekeeping and humanitarian efforts. And Chile wants to be more involved.

"In all we do with the Chileans, we want to show them the professionalism of our military and how it depends on civilian leadership," he said.

That's a new -- and sometimes hard to accept -- concept for many Latin American countries which have emerged from long rule by military dictatorships. Chile is one of them.

Gen. Augusto Pinochet seized power in Chile during a bloody military coup Sept. 11, 1973. He ordered air force jets to bomb the presidential palace in the center of Santiago. The United States cut off military ties with Chile. The contact void lasted some 13 years.

Military relations got back on track when democratic rule returned to Chile in 1990. But getting some of the "old guard" to forget the lost decade isn't easy, Trujillo said. The subject comes up regularly at meetings. It has hampered some projects.

But things are changing. The group is working with a new generation of officers and noncommissioned officers. Trujillo said most know what happened some 30 years ago "was a political thing that has nothing to do" with them or what Chile's military wants today.

"Most say it's time to move forward, become interoperable, and learn from each other," he said. "And that's what we're for."

Second Lt. Manuel Alvear is with the "new guard." A physical therapist, he's worked with the U.S. Air Force. Seeing how his American counterparts work was invaluable.

"We're not much different in our work ethic," Alvear said. "I know we have the potential to reach just as high a level of competency in our work as the Americans." To make that happen, he said Chile must continue working with the U.S. military. "That's easy to see."

Col. Ariel Alvarez agrees. A career airman, he heads the Chilean air force's search and rescue service. He's part of the old guard, but not stuck in the past. He welcomes change.

"We want to move on -- play a bigger U.N. role," Alvarez said. So Chile must learn to work with the U.S. forces it will most likely team with. "We must learn to integrate, and about each other's equipment, techniques and capabilities."

Chile's moved in that direction. It has troops with U.N. peacekeeping forces in East Timor. Alvarez said exchanges with U.S. forces made those troops more effective.

Helping allies become more efficient is a huge group goal.

"Because you never know when you'll need a friend," said Lt. Col. Sergio de la Pena, the group's Army section chief. "So you'd better know what friends bring to the table."

The U.S. military learns what its friends can offer through exchanges. But it's not a one-way street. There's no "do-it-this-way approach," de la Pena said. "We base relationships on mutual respect and interest. Each side gains something."

Relations with Chile's military are at an all-time high and getting better, Willis said.

"We're beginning to really open the doors that have been closed for years," he said.

Face-to-face

The surge is due to the professionalism of Chile's military, Trujillo said.

"The Chileans are top-notch," he said. "Much more professional than the military of most Latin American nations," he said. "They have a forward-thinking mindset."

As contacts continue, both countries will benefit. They'll work better together.

But the human exchange is most important, said Group Cmdr. (Dr.) Charlie Cundliff. He heads the Chilean air force's lone modular air transportable medical deployment squadron. He said there's no question both militaries share the desire to do the best job they can.

"But you must know people you work with," he said. "That will make getting the mission done as a team much easier."

That's why "face-to-face" programs are the group's mainstay, Willis said. Building personal relationships will pay off when both countries work side by side in the future.

It was an exchange that Willis said convinced him the group's efforts pay off. He worked to send 10 Air Force doctors to work at a remote village in southern Chile. With their Chilean counterparts, the doctors operated on a dozen "kids who wouldn't have gotten the care any other way," he said.

Knowing the children would be frightened after surgery, "the docs turned the recovery tent into a circus," he said. The tent was filled with balloons, toys, music and plenty of cheer.

"The kids weren't afraid. That touched my heart," he said. What was more rewarding, Willis said, was playing a role in making the exchange happen.

"I watched a positive military relationship develop right before my eyes."

Ready for duty in Chile?

Now you can help the military group in Chile. It's looking for Reserve or Guard troops who want a change from their normal duties.

Temporary duty tours are for three weeks or longer, but must be unit-funded. And Spanish speakers are mandatory, said Lt. Col. Dana Willis, the group's Air Force section chief. There are a host of projects.

"So you must be flexible," he said. "You might work out of your career field."

The work location -- Santiago -- is Chile's vibrant capital at the foot of the Andes Mountains. Volunteers will wear civilian clothes, live in a hotel, receive full per diem, get to work with the Chilean military and experience Chilean hospitality.

"It's hard to top that," Willis said.

COPYRIGHT 2001 U.S. Air Force, Air Force News Agency
COPYRIGHT 2001 Gale Group