{"id":786,"date":"2026-06-05T06:59:08","date_gmt":"2026-06-05T06:59:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/nato\/786\/"},"modified":"2026-06-05T06:59:08","modified_gmt":"2026-06-05T06:59:08","slug":"how-sheppard-afb-is-preparing-natos-next-generation-of-pilots-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/nato\/786\/","title":{"rendered":"How Sheppard AFB is preparing NATO\u2019s next generation of pilots"},"content":{"rendered":"

WICHITA FALLS (KFDX\/KJTL<\/a>) \u2014 The Euro-NATO Joint Jet Pilot Training Program, known as ENJPPT, is the world\u2019s only internationally manned and led pilot training program. The program brings together students and instructors from 14 NATO partner nations to train future fighter pilots under a common mission.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur mission is to train NATO\u2019s fighter pilots,\u201d said Jeff Shulman with ENJJPT. \u201cWe trained about 65% of the fighter pilots for the United States Air Force last year and then a majority of the pilots for the rest of the 13 other partner nations of the NATO alliance,\u201d said Jeff Shulman, 80th Training Wing and ENJJPT commander.<\/p>\n

Program leaders say the international structure allows participating countries to share ideas, experiences and best practices while preparing pilots to operate together around the world.<\/p>\n

\u201cEach of our allies has various strengths, and getting the best of those ideas from all 14 nations is what makes this program amazing,\u201d Shulman said.<\/p>\n

The training extends beyond flying aircraft. Instructors say students must also learn how to work with people from different backgrounds and cultures.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have to adapt to the different cultures that everyone comes from, so the biggest part of that is really understanding each other and working together as a team for a common goal,\u201d said Instructor Pilot Andrew Wang.<\/p>\n

For international students, the transition can be challenging.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe most difficult thing going in was acclimatizing to a completely different culture and meeting new people and how you fit into all of it,\u201d said student pilot Arsham Moti-Ghavanin.<\/p>\n

Despite those challenges, students say the experience provides a unique perspective on the importance of NATO cooperation.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s easy to look at NATO and it\u2019s just this far away thing where it\u2019s a big organization and you wouldn\u2019t really interact with it,\u201d Moti-Ghavanin said. \u201cBut when you actually get involved with it, you see how interoperability makes its place.\u201d<\/p>\n

Officials say the program\u2019s standardized training helps ensure pilots from all participating nations are prepared to operate together if called upon.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe training has to start on day one to have the same commonality of how we train, how we equip and how we organize,\u201d Shulman said. \u201cIf we\u2019re called up to do something across the world, we don\u2019t have time to spin up. We are ready now.\u201d<\/p>\n

As the United States approaches its 250th anniversary, ENJPPT continues to serve as an example of how military partnerships and shared training can help prepare the next generation of aviators while strengthening the alliance between NATO nations.<\/p>\n

You can now stream KFDX and Texoma\u2019s FOX live 24\/7 on your smart TV\u00a0with\u00a0KFDX+<\/a>,\u00a0our brand-new app! No antenna, cable, or satellite needed\u2014watch for free, anytime.\u00a0Just download it on your Roku, Apple TV, or Fire TV and start streaming.<\/p>\n

Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.<\/p>\n

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to Texomashomepage.com. <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"WICHITA FALLS (KFDX\/KJTL) \u2014 The Euro-NATO Joint Jet Pilot Training Program, known as ENJPPT, is the world\u2019s only…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":787,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[594,597,593,7,595,598,596,272],"class_list":["post-786","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-news","tag-fighter-pilots","tag-international-students","tag-jeff-shulman","tag-nato","tag-nato-nations","tag-partner-nations","tag-the-united-states-air-force","tag-training"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/nato\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/786","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/nato\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/nato\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/nato\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/nato\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=786"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/nato\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/786\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/nato\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/787"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/nato\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=786"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/nato\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=786"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/nato\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=786"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}