French chief of staff visits 58th SOW, AFOTEC

  • Published
  • By Sheila Rupp
  • Nucleus Journalist
KIRTLAND AIR FORCE BASE, New Mexico --  The chief of staff the French air force visited Kirtland April 4 as part of the U.S. Air Force Chief of Staff Counterpart Program.

Gen. Stéphane Abrial toured the Air Force Operational Test and Evaluation Center and the 58th Special Operations Wing here. He was accompanied by his wife, Mickaëla, and Maj. Gen. and Mrs. Marc E. Rogers. General Rogers is the vice commander of U.S. Air Forces in Europe.

The party was met here by Maj. Gen. and Mrs. Robin E. Scott, Col. and Mrs. Terrence Feehan, Col. and Mrs. Robert E. Suminsby Jr., and Col. and Mrs. Eugene Haase.

General Scott, the commander of AFOTEC, and Colonel Haase, the 58th SOW commander, accompanied General Abrial on a tour of AFOTEC facilities here.

AFOTEC directly reports to Air Force Headquarters and is responsible for conducting testing, under operationally realistic conditions, new systems being developed for the Air Force and multiservice use.

During his nearly four hour visit to Kirtland, General Abrial also visited the 58th SOW with General Scott and Colonel Haase. General Abrial saw static displays of both the HH-60G and the CV-22. The 58th SOW serves as the premier training site for the Air Force special operations and combat search and rescue aircrews.

"It's not everyday that we have a chief of staff from a major allied force visit the base, so we were proud to show him what we do," Maj. Phillip Petro, the 58th Maintenance Group's executive officer, said.

General Abrial has served as the chief of staff of the French air force since July 16, 2006. Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. T. Michael Moseley visited French air force bases in September and October 2006.

While General Abrial toured facilities here, Mrs. Abrial accompanied the other spouses to Old Town Albuquerque for a tour of the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center and lunch.

The Abrials also visited the Pentagon, Langley Air Force Base, Va., Peterson and Schriever Air Force Bases, Colo. the U.S. Air Force Academy, Colo., and Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala., over the course of three days.