Shared leadership boosts multinational air power at Panamax 2026

U.S. and partner-nation Airmen operated side-by-side inside the Combined Air Operations Center at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona, during Exercise PANAMAX 2026, planning, coordinating and executing multinational air operations to refine how the region would respond collectively to a crisis.

Working from the 612th Air Operations Center, the combined air component brought together leaders from the United States, Colombia and other partner nations to synchronize airpower in support of the broader multinational exercise. The effort underscored the headquarters’ core mission to plan, coordinate, task and assess air operations in line with a joint force commander’s objectives—an undertaking that, in a multinational environment, also demands understanding of each nation’s capabilities, authorities, approval processes and command relationships.

Maj. Gen. David Mineau, commander of Air Forces Southern, served as Combined Force Air Component commander alongside Colombian Aerospace Force Col. Andrés Galvis Espejo, who was the deputy CFACC. Their shared leadership was designed to give partner nations a meaningful role in shaping operational planning and to reflect trust built through years of military cooperation. “Combined leadership is about more than having partner nations represented in the headquarters — it means giving them a meaningful role in how we plan, make decisions and execute,” Mineau said. “When we empower leaders from across the region to contribute their expertise, we become a more capable and effective team.”

For Galvis, the deputy role offered a chance to operate at a different echelon—engaging in strategic discussions, anticipating senior leaders’ information needs and translating strategic direction into operational decisions. An experienced fighter pilot and operational planner, he brought combined and coalition experience from exercises including RED FLAG, RED FLAG RESCUE, RELÁMPAGO and CRUZEX, and previously served as Colombia’s director of combat operations with responsibilities spanning force generation, operational readiness and advanced training of combat squadrons in joint and combined environments. His command experience includes leading Colombia’s 111th Air Superiority Squadron and Combat Group No. 21.

That background informed a distinctly Colombian perspective on the headquarters floor, including experience with dynamic targeting, rules of engagement and the operational and governmental coordination required to employ airpower. “Interoperability begins with understanding and respecting the strengths that each nation contributes to the mission,” Galvis said. “By training together, exchanging operational experiences and working within a common joint and combined planning framework, we develop the trust required to operate effectively as a coalition. That trust is essential when time-sensitive decisions must be made in response to a complex regional contingency or in cooperative security scenarios.”

PANAMAX is structured to provide a realistic environment to work through those complexities before a contingency arises. The ability to integrate quickly carries added weight in a region connected by shared security and economic interests. A disruption to the Panama Canal—a strategically and economically significant waterway linking the Atlantic and Pacific—could have effects well beyond Panama’s borders, making its continued security and neutrality a shared regional priority.

The exercise translated those shared interests into coordinated action among air component planners and operators. “PANAMAX demonstrates the value of enduring partnerships; it was a place to confirm: strengthened operational relationships become a strategic capability to win in complex regional air operations,” Galvis said. “Throughout the exercise, officers from different nations worked together to transform individual capabilities into a unified operational effort, and we became a real multinational air force team. The integration of diverse perspectives enhances the quality of our planning and reinforces our collective ability to respond to shared security challenges.”

The United States–Colombia partnership has long been a cornerstone of PANAMAX, with Colombian leaders serving in senior air component roles across multiple iterations—an enduring reflection of trust and a shared commitment to regional security. Officers from additional partner nations also participated alongside U.S. and Colombian counterparts inside the CAOC.

For Galvis, the senior leadership experience was also a chance to bring lessons home. “Serving as Deputy Combined Force Air Component Commander has been a blessing, a privilege and a unique opportunity for my professional growth, as an Air Power leader,” Galvis said. “The experience of being coached by and working alongside General Mineau, as well as fellow leaders from across the region, has reinforced the importance of trust, interoperability and shared leadership. These lessons will continue to strengthen the Colombian Aerospace Force’s contribution to regional security and multinational air operations.”

By building relationships and refining decision-making processes before a crisis, PANAMAX aims to ensure that partner nations can integrate capabilities, coordinate quickly and operate together when regional security requires a combined response.