BALTIMORE -- Third Army/ARCENT welcomed soldiers of the Kyrgyz Republic to the United States with a tour of Baltimore and the Washington D.C. areas during a public affairs exchange Sept. 11-17.
The Kyrgyz delegation of four officers and one civilian represented the Kyrgyz Republic's Ministry of Information, their equivalent to the Department of Defense Public Affairs. The delegation was invited by Third Army/ARCENT to learn more about how U.S. Forces train and execute media operations on the battlefield.
Kyrgyz Lt. Col. Avtandil Erkinbaev, the senior member of the delegation, said he was grateful for being allowed to attend this program.
"I would like to express my gratitude to Third Army, " he said, "programs like these are extremely helpful."
During the exchange Erkinbaev and the other delegates were treated to a tour of the Defense Media Activity where they witnessed preparations for live broadcasts; the Defense Information School (DINFOS) to see the various training environments for U.S. Servicemembers, both in a classroom and in a tactical environment.
"One of the fundamental differences (between U.S. and Kyrgyz public affairs) is that your (public affairs) specialists are all trained in one place," he added. In the Kyrgyz Republic public affairs personnel are trained at various locations and brought together to work, but in the U.S. all public affairs, photography and graphics personnel are trained at DINFOS.
The delegation was also given a tour of Baltimore, the nation's capital, and the Pentagon which was topped off with Army Lt. Col. Elizabeth Robbins, the public affairs desk officer for the Central Command area, answering questions about media operations within the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs.
"(The Kyrgyz delegation were) really excited about their time here," said Army Maj. Antoinette Baucom, the officer in charge of the event. "How close the major news networks were to the Pentagon press briefing room amazed them."
The Kyrgyz delegates said they will take lots of things back to their country when they go home.
"We learned a lot of things particularly about new cultures and how the U.S. military does public affairs," Erkinbaev said.
Exchange programs such as these are a routine part of Third Army operations, Maj. Baucom, a University of Southern California graduate said.
"Third Army strives to improve the quality of all militaries in the CENTCOM area by conducting exchange programs like these," she said. "These exchanges though they only seem minor, actually can help build militaries up and increase stability."
"By allowing our partners more opportunities to show us how they conduct public affairs will benefit both nations," she added. "We can learn from each other and improve our public affairs practices."
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