An American education

To foster this, small numbers of New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) personnel attend overseas professional military education courses alongside a range of other nations.

Wing Commander Hilton Baker and his family recently returned from a year at Air War College at the United States Air Force’s Air University in Montgomery, Alabama.

The course offered the 48 international officers valuable insights into American history, government, and culture against the context of the University’s location.

“Montgomery is an interesting place. It was the home of the first Confederacy White House during the American Civil War, before decades later being the heart of the Civil Rights movement with Martin Luther King Jr and Rosa Parks.”

Joined by more than 180 American students from a variety of military and government agencies, the lessons continued with courses on fundamentals of strategy, great power competition, and regional security studies.

Splitting into small mixed classes allowed for exchanging of ideas, sharing of experiences, and differing of opinions.

“My seminar had a Bulgarian fighter pilot, Israeli search and rescue commander and a dozen United States service personnel from Air Force and Army with skills ranging from aircrew, doctors, and cyber, through to recruiting, security, and intelligence. We’d all had different experiences which made for fascinating viewpoints, conversations and debates,” WGCDR Baker said.

New Zealand has a long history with the Air War College, with Kiwi World War II fighter ace Alan Deere being one of three international students on the very first course in 1946.

“Looking through various course photos across the years it was quite humbling to recognise many distinguished New Zealanders who had previously attended.”

WGCDR Baker, an engineer by trade, added his own mark to this historical thread in being awarded the Commandant’s Leadership Award at the graduation ceremony.

Outside of the professional learning environment, WGCDR Baker and his family took the opportunity to taste and see American culture. This saw them celebrating iconic holidays such as July 4th and Thanksgiving, with American friends. They also took the opportunity to travel, taking road trips that racked up more than 24,000 miles visiting 23 states in the year.

He observed, “one of our family aims was to not be tourists, but to try and immerse ourselves in the culture and gain a genuine understanding of the American experience”.

When asked about his biggest takeaway from the year, WGCDR Baker pointed to the relationships formed and the deeper understanding of international perspectives.

“As the global security environment continues to shift, it’s essential that we, as a smaller nation, understand what shapes the thinking of our partners.

“Building strategic empathy — seeing the world through others’ eyes — helps us engage more effectively and strengthens our ability to contribute meaningfully on the international stage. The Air War College experience is more than just academic learning. It’s a practical way for the NZDF to build lasting connections, develop strategic insight, and ensure New Zealand remains a trusted and informed partner in global security conversations.”