Students from 13 countries across Latin America and U.S. graduate from Inter-American Air Forces Academy

International military students clap during a graduation ceremony for the Inter-American Air Forces Academy at JBSA-Lackland, Texas, Aug. 7, 2024. Approximately 200 international military students from 13 Partner Nations and the U. S. Air and Space Forces graduated during the second training cycle of 2024. IAAFA provides instruction in professional military education and leadership, aircrew training and technical disciplines in Spanish, and is aligned under the 37th Training Wing. (U.S. Air Force photo by Vanessa R. Adame)

Students from 13 countries across Latin America and U.S. graduate from Inter-American Air Forces Academy

Maj. Gen. Fábio Luis Morau, Brazilian Defense and Air Attache, speaks during the Inter-American Air Forces Academy graduation banquet at JBSA-Lackland, Texas, Aug. 7, 2024. Approximately 200 international military students from 13 Partner Nations and the U. S. Air and Space Forces graduated during the second training cycle of 2024. IAAFA provides instruction in professional military education and leadership, aircrew training and technical disciplines in Spanish, and is aligned under the 37th Training Wing. (U.S. Air Force photo by Vanessa R. Adame)

Students from 13 countries across Latin America and U.S. graduate from Inter-American Air Forces Academy

U.S. and international military students sit at the Inter-American Air Forces Academy graduation ceremony at JBSA-Lackland, Texas, Aug. 7, 2024. Approximately 200 international military students from 13 Partner Nations and the U. S. Air and Space Forces graduated during the second training cycle of 2024. IAAFA provides instruction in professional military education and leadership, aircrew training and technical disciplines in Spanish, and is aligned under the 37th Training Wing. (U.S. Air Force photo by Vanessa R. Adame)

Students from 13 countries across Latin America and U.S. graduate from Inter-American Air Forces Academy

Primeiro Sargento Aline Marques, Brazilian Air Force, gestures as she speaks with Maj. Gen. Fábio Luis Morau, Brazilian Defense and Air Attache, during an immersion to the 318th Training Squadron at JBSA-Lackland, Texas, Aug. 6, 2024. Marques is currently serving as a Partner Nation Instructor at the Inter-American Air Forces Academy. Morau visited the 318th TRS as part of an immersion to the academy before serving as guest speaker at IAAFA’s graduation banquet. Approximately 200 international military students from 13 Partner Nations and the U. S. Air and Space Forces graduated during the second training cycle of 2024. IAAFA provides instruction in professional military education and leadership, aircrew training and technical disciplines in Spanish, and is aligned under the 37th Training Wing. (U.S. Air Force photo by Vanessa R. Adame)

Students from 13 countries across Latin America and U.S. graduate from Inter-American Air Forces Academy

Published Aug. 19, 2024
By Vanessa Adame
37th Training Wing Public Affairs

JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-LACKLAND, Texas --

Approximately 200 students from 13 Partner Nations, the U.S. Air and Space Forces graduated from the Inter-American Air Forces Academy in a ceremony here, Aug. 7.

The service members earned certificates from 21 courses in professional military education and leadership, aircrew training and technical disciplines. This training cycle was the first time the academy offered the Defensive Cyber Operations course, a six-week cyber intermediate course that IAAFA leaders describe as “providing both highly technical academic and hands-on training in Spanish to partner nations in the realms of network defense, host defense, vulnerability assessments, security audits, and incident response.”

According to Capt. Carlos Esteves, commander of the Information Warfare Training Flight, IAAFA established the course to address the growing danger posed by serious cyber threats to our mission partners and increase our partners’ ability to sustain operations amid an increasingly complex and challenging cyber environment.

Maj. Gen. Fábio Luis Morau, Brazilian Defense and Air Attaché, signs a guestbook at the 318th Training Squadron at JBSA-Lackland, Texas, Aug. 7, 2024. Morau visited the 318th TRS as part of an immersion to the Inter-American Air Forces Academy before serving as guest speaker at IAAFA’s graduation banquet. Approximately 200 international military students from 13 Partner Nations and the U. S. Air and Space Forces graduated during the second training cycle of 2024. IAAFA provides instruction in professional military education and leadership, aircrew training and technical courses in Spanish, and is aligned under the 37th Training Wing. (U.S. Air Force photo by Vanessa R. Adame)

The graduates celebrated their accomplishment with a ceremony and banquet. Military and civilian leaders from the local community joined the graduates. Maj. Gen. Fábio Luis Morau, Brazilian Defense and Air Attaché, was the guest of honor at the evening banquet.

In his speech, Morau emphasized Brazil’s 200 years of bilateral relations with the United States and stressed the importance of partnership through education and training.

“It’s important to reiterate that more and more efforts must be made to ensure that our students, instructors and our countries are studying, working, developing and progressing together in a process of continental synergy,” Morau said. “Together we are stronger, and we can ensure that the strength and peace of our Americas can reflect the joint actions and objectives of all of us, as we brilliantly celebrate today at this graduation.”

IAAFA leadership recognized top-performing students at the banquet including Oficial De Mar Primero Luis Miguel Contreras Casapia of the Peruvian Air Force, who earned the Academic Achievement award in the enlisted category; and Teniente Sebastian Cruz Martinez of the Ecuadorian Air Force, who won the same award in the officer category.

Col. Bryan Tuinman, commandant of the Inter-American Air Forces Academy, pins an international military student during IAAFA’s graduation at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland Texas, Aug. 7, 2024. Approximately 200 international military students from 13 Partner Nations and the U. S. Air and Space Forces graduated during the second training cycle of 2024. IAAFA provides instruction in professional military education and leadership, aircrew training and technical disciplines in Spanish, and is aligned under the 37th Training Wing. (U.S. Air Force photo by Vanessa R. Adame)

Col. Bryan Tuinman, IAAFA commandant, praised the graduates, and called them the newest members of the IAAFA family.

“IAAFA continues to serve its role as a key element of the United States Air Force’s security cooperation enterprise,” he said. “I ask you to serve as a center of excellence for your nation’s defense and security mechanisms. Take the knowledge you learned at IAAFA and apply it to make your organization and those around you better.”