180th Fighter Wing Participates in Load Diffuser 17

Airman First Class Damon St. John, an F-16 Fighting Falcon mechanic, teaches 1 Lt. Laszlo Molnar, a JAS 39 Grippen mechanical engineer assigned to the Hungarian Air Force, to launch an F-16 Fighting Falcon assigned to the 180th Fighter Wing, Ohio Air National Guard May 26, 2017 at Kecskemet Air Base in Hungary. The United States, along with Hungary, Slovakia, Croatia, Czech Republic and Slovenia, participated in Load Diffuser 17, a two-week Hungarian-led multinational exercise focused on enhancing interoperability capabilities and skills among NATO allied and European partner air forces by conducting joint operations and air defenses to maintain joint readiness, while also bolstering relationships within the U.S. Air National Guard’s State Partnership Program initiatives. Ohio became state partners with Hungary in 1993. Air National Guard photo by Senior Master Sgt. Beth Holliker.