An Cosantóir

An Cosantóir January / February 2026 www.military.ie/magazine I n April this year, Lt Sean Murray (104 Sqn) and I were selected to attend the Squadron Officer School (SOS) of the Inter-European Air Forces Academy (IEAFA) in Kapaun Air station, Germany. This was a 6-week course based around development of leadership skills, but other than that we didn't know too much about what to expect. There had been a number of previous attendees on the course from the Air Corps, who spoke very highly of the course, camaraderie and overall experience. Kapaun Air Station is based on the edge of Ramstein Air Base, in the southwest of Germany. This is where much of the academic and Professional Military Education (PME) training is conducted for the U.S. Air Force in Europe and Africa. Alongside the SOS, a similar course was being conducted for the NCO Academy (NCOA), with broadly similar aims and learnings, with nuances between the two cohorts. IAEFA: There were 44 students from 24 countries on course 25 Bravo (there are 3 courses per year – A, B and C) comprising all ranks and roles within an Air Force, from pilots to admin staff and loadmasters, fire crew, software analysts and base security personnel. There were also other force elements from countries that may not have an Air Force service such as ground-based air defence (GBAD) Units. Theme: The overall theme of the course was strengthening relationships between NATO countries, and NATO Partnership for Peace countries. This meant we had students from across Europe, the U.S. (who were stationed in Europe) and some African countries. This course is a prerequisite for USAF personnel who wish to gain promotion to Major, but for the majority of the non-USAF students on the course, it was a chance to develop their professional military education. Outline of Course: When the SOS and NCOA courses are conducted in the U.S., they are completely segregated. However, IEAFA received a special derogation to facilitate mixed rank learning. In order to achieve effective sharing of experiences and learning, rank in IEAFA was a formality where everyone was on first name terms. The course structure was generally 4-5 hours lectures per day, with additional physical activities. These always had a purpose – the first challenge we did had a basic set of constraints such as the group had to keep moving, follow the route and reach your objective by a certain time. 4 | THE BEST THE BEST MILITARY MILITARY COURSE I'VE COURSE I'VE ATTENDED ATTENDED ARTICLE BY CAPT FIACHRA MCGOLDRICK, 302 SQN, NO 3 OPS WING One of the team building exercises, always with added time pressure and incentive!

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