AVIANO AIR BASE, Italy -- AVIANO AIR BASE, Italy — The 31st Maintenance Group Country Teams received the 2025 Secretary of War Sustainment, Train, Advise, and Assist Award for strengthening partner-nation maintenance capabilities and enhancing NATO readiness across Europe throughout 2025.
The Country Teams, a section of the 31st MXG, is composed of 20 Airmen that specialize in providing support to seven specific partner nations.
This award highlights a year of technical exchanges, hands-on advising and multinational cooperation with European partners. The 31st MXG teams worked alongside Italy, Slovenia, Croatia, Romania, Bulgaria, Slovakia and Sweden to develop maintenance expertise, improve interoperability and support partner nations preparing for modern air operations.
Col. Anthony Bryant, 31st MXG commander, said he has been impressed by the team’s impact in a short period of time.
“They’ve been working with seven of our partners to develop and cultivate maintenance expertise,” Bryant said. “The mission is really cultivating that peer-to-peer working relationship with our allies and partners and building an enduring relationship that is mutually beneficial.”
Those exchanges included training with the Slovak air force as they received their first F-16 Block 70 aircraft. Aviano maintainers provided hands-on instruction, troubleshooting assistance and equipment training essential for Slovakia’s transition to the advanced fighter platform.
Chief Master Sgt. Daniel Lopez, 31st MXG senior enlisted leader, said the teams’ contributions go beyond aircraft systems.
“It’s more about just airplanes. It’s about the relationships,” Lopez said. “That’s security cooperation and security assistance in a nutshell.”
Lopez also spoke about other additional missions, including aerospace ground equipment support in Germany, an 11-day munitions engagement in Moldova and quality assurance training to help partner nations improve aircraft inspection and weighing procedures.
He said the team’s efforts reflect a broader wing-wide capability.
“This is a fighter wing capability,” Lopez said. “We’re looking for ways to expand beyond the maintenance group, maybe into the mission support group or operations group, to see where we can go beyond what we’ve already built.”
Lopez said he was struck by the significance of the award.
“I came into my office, checked my email and saw that these 20 personnel had won a Department of War-level award,” he said. “It’s a ministerial-level award, and I was just blown away by how far-reaching this capability has become.”
Bryant said the honor reflects the dedication and professionalism of the Airmen involved.
“I am just so impressed with the maintenance group team,” Bryant said. “It’s been absolutely amazing to see what they’ve accomplished.”