Air Force Reserve, French Air and Space Force turn partnership into readiness during RAPP engagement

For the U.S. Air Force Reserve and the French Air and Space Force, interoperability isn't a talking point. It's the difference between two allied forces showing up for an engagement and two allied forces ready to operate together when the mission demands it.

That readiness drove a Reserve Allies and Partners Program engagement held June 23-25 in the National Capital Region and at Pittsburgh Air Reserve Station, Pennsylvania. The three-day event brought together Air Force Reserve Command leaders, and a French Air and Space Force delegation led by Lt. Gen. Dominique Tardif, vice chief of the French Air and Space Force, for key leader discussions, airlift training, aeromedical evacuation integration and military-to-military exchanges.

Lt. Gen. John Healy, chief of the Air Force Reserve and commander of Air Force Reserve Command, said the engagement was deliberately built around practical training rather than ceremony.

"This is all about interoperability between our two forces," Healy said. "By that crew in the A400M knowing how we fly the C-17, getting in the simulators with us, and flying in formation, it's a force multiplier."

The engagement was part of RAPP, the Air Force Reserve's framework for strengthening relationships, interoperability and shared understanding with allied and partner reserve forces. RAPP is built around four lines of effort: key leader engagements, military-to-military exchanges, subject matter expert exchanges and professional development.

"The whole point behind the Reserve Allies and Partners Program is to ensure that we have dedicated ties to different countries so that we're able to not count on the chance exercise, but deliberately planned exercises," Healy said.

"This was a deliberate event with specific training objectives," Healy said. "On today's flight, we conducted copilot training, airdrop training and aeromedical evacuation training. These are deliberately planned events designed to build interoperability between our forces."

The week opened June 23 with an office call between Healy and the French delegation at the Pentagon. Discussions focused on expanding cooperation between the two forces, building on bilateral Terms of Reference signed during a previous RAPP engagement in Paris.

The next day, the engagement connected military cooperation to the long-standing alliance between the U.S. and France. On June 24, leaders from the Air Force and the French delegation attended an airshow practice demonstration by the Patrouille de France at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland. Flying the Dassault/Dornier Alpha Jet, the French demonstration team honored the United States 250th birthday and the deep history shared by the two nations.

For Tardif, the partnership is rooted in history but focused on future operational demands.

"If we want to be able to operate on different conflicts and different areas in the world, we need to be interoperable," Tardif said. "Interoperability is, perhaps, some common procedures, but more than that, if you want to be efficient, you need also to be able to know each other."

That focus on knowing each other moved from discussion to execution June 25 during an airlift training mission from JB Andrews to Pittsburgh ARB. Healy and the French delegation flew aboard a French A400M Atlas while a C-17 Globemaster III from the 911th Airlift Wing flew the same route. The aircraft conducted coordinated low-level airdrop training and aeromedical evacuation training, allowing aircrews to observe procedures, compare capabilities and build shared understanding in flight.

At Pittsburgh, leaders from the 911th AW gave the French delegation a mission brief, and overview of how a Reserve wing organizes, trains and delivers combat airlift capability.

"We are honored to welcome our French partners to Pittsburgh," said Col. Douglas Stouffer, commander of the 911thAW. "Hosting events like this bolsters our capability to operate alongside our allies in any contingency or conflict. By collaborating and exchanging knowledge with the French Air and Space Force, we are increasing our readiness to answer our Nation's call."

The visit also spotlighted AFR's critical role in aeromedical evacuation. The Air Force Reserve provides more than 60% of the Air Force's aeromedical evacuation capability, making Reserve Airmen central to the nation's ability to move and care for wounded, ill or injured personnel during contingency operations.

During the return flight to JB Andrews, Airmen from the 911th Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron integrated with the French aircrew, loading personnel and equipment onto the A400M. The scenario gave both sides hands-on training in how allied crews can move critical patients across platforms quickly when speed, flexibility and access matter most.

"Just by the virtue of putting an air evac crew in the back means that regardless of who lands at any forward location, if it's a French A400M or a U.S. C-17, the air evac group can load critical wounded and get them treated as soon as possible," Healy said.

For the French Air and Space Force, the engagement comes at a time of increased focus on reserve capability and force development.

"For me, the main topic is to reinforce the link between U.S. Air Force Reserve and us, because we have some very big change and objectives in terms of reserve reinforcement in France," Tardif said.

The engagement also demonstrated what AFR leaders call the Reserve Advantage, a concept rooted in Reserve Airmen bringing military capability, civilian expertise, operational experience and continuity to both the joint force and allied partnerships. Through RAPP, those strengths can be aligned with partner nations facing similar challenges in readiness, mobilization and operational integration.

"This is deliberate training, which is exactly what our Reserve Allies and Partner Program is all about," Healy said. "Making sure we have the opportunity to work together and expand our minds beyond our own fleet and what we're only trained to."

With the United States marking 250 years of independence, the week's events were more than a reflecting on shared history. They were an investment in future operations and the ability of allied reserve forces to respond together when called.