AEDC squadron commander gets career opportunity of a lifetime

  • Published
  • By Janae' Daniels
  • Arnold Engineering Development Center Public Affairs
Arnold Air Force Base, Tenn. --  When Lt. Col. L. Najeeb Ahmed entered the Air Force as a commissioned officer in 1992, he had two goals he wanted to accomplish. 

One was to deploy to help support the warfighter, and the second was to get an assignment overseas. He accomplished the first goal in 2006 when he deployed to Bosnia. 

The second goal, he recently found out, will be underway next year when he begins training as the next assistant air attaché to the United Kingdom (U.K.) under the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA). 

"Having worked with embassies and attachés before I think this is a unique experience," he said. "You really are in the middle of that country and by the end of three years we will know the U.K. inside and out." 

Even though he will be working for DIA, Colonel Ahmed, who is currently the commander of the 717th Test Squadron, is still charged with representing the Air Force in a positive and professional manner. 

"The selection board for the attaché position wants to make sure the person they choose has professional qualities, understands the Air Force and understands the mission. My boss, who is the attaché, and I will handle all Air Force matters in the U.K. When people look at us, they will see the Air Force." 

According to the Air Force Web site, the attaché positions are filled by officers in the rank of major through brigadier general. They build and sustain the key international relationships that ensure required access enabling DoD global operations and directly supporting the Overseas Contingency Operation. 

Now that he has been selected, Colonel Ahmed and his family will prepare for attaché duty, which typically involves a lengthy training period in the Washington, D.C., area. 

He is scheduled to start training in January 2010. During his 16 years of service, Lt Col Ahmed has had a broad career of accomplishments that fit with his selection as the assistant air attaché. 

His experiences include foreign military sales experience, ground and flight test experience and corporate Air Force experience as a member of the Chief Staff of the Air Force and Secretary of the Air Force's executive action group. 

"I had learned about this position when I was the executive officer for the JSF [Joint Strike Fighter] in D.C.," he explained. "I worked closely with the U.K; they were one of our prime customers for the JSF. As a matter of fact, the current attaché in the U.K. now, I worked with at JSF." 

Through those experiences, he learned that attachés not only work visits or social events, but they also harbor military-to-military and political-to-military relationships. 

"I have always looked at the air attaché position as a pinnacle assignment," he said. "There are very few opportunities for engineers and acquisition types, like myself to get assigned overseas. So here's one of those great overseas assignments, you don't have to learn the language and who doesn't want to be posted to the U.K?" 

This assignment is considered a joint assignment meaning the colonel's wife, Carole, and 9-month-old son, Emery, will get to accompany him on this three-year tour. 

"This is very much a joint assignment," he explained. "So much that part of the application package was to send in a full-size, full-length color photo of me and my family. They want to see us; they want to see how we interact." 

According to Colonel Ahmed, this particular assignment will require a lot of networking and getting to know contemporaries as well as other attachés from other countries. 

"As you're networking, you're learning about other countries, other attachés and all that information is valuable for our country," he explained. 

Col. James Jolliffe, commander of the 704th Test Group, has been an advocate for Colonel Ahmed during this entire process. 

"He's excelled in every assignment he's had, and I know he's excited about this new opportunity," Col. Jolliffe said. "I'm very happy that Haj [Col. Ahmed], Carole and Emery will be representing the Air Force and the United States in their new assignment. I know they will do well." 

According to the Air Force Web site, the Air Force Attaché Program office manages the screening, selection, assignment and support for Air Force officer and enlisted personnel filling more than 235 Defense Attaché System (DAS) positions in more than 98 countries. 

These personnel officially represent the Secretary of Defense, Chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Secretary of the Air Force and Chief of Staff of the Air Force to the host country Defense Ministry and provide critical advice on bilateral political-military issues to the U.S. Ambassador and Country Team.