NELLIS AIR FORCE BASE, Nev. -- An Air Force Operational Test and Evaluation Center flight test engineer recently traded technical testing for strategic translation in Honduras. Capt. Roberto Hernandez Fuentes, from AFOTEC Detachment 6, deployed as a Language Enabled Airman Program (LEAP) Spanish Scholar, serving as a critical liaison for the CENTAM Guardian 2027 Concept Development Conference. The event brought together U.S. and Honduran leaders to map out next year’s multinational exercise.
CENTAM Guardian 2027 is an annual multinational military and humanitarian exercise led by U.S. Southern Command and partner Central American nations. It is designed to improve regional cooperation, disaster relief readiness, and combined responses to shared security threats.
Just as early involvement in operational testing identifies and resolves technical flaws before a system reaches the field, Hernandez Fuentes’s early integration as a translator prevented misunderstandings and planning bottlenecks before the actual exercise kicks off. By serving as the primary linguistic bridge between the U.S. planning team and their Honduran counterparts, he ensured that both nations’ strategic concepts, safety parameters, and training objectives were perfectly aligned at the very foundation of the upcoming multinational exercise.
“My experience at AFOTEC Detachment 6 played a huge role in my success during this LEAP deployment,” said Hernandez Fuentes. “It taught me how to collaborate with diverse organizations, analyze complex operational challenges, and communicate effectively with senior leaders."
As the F-35 Analysis Branch Chief for the United Operational Test Team, Hernandez Fuentes works daily with partners from Australia and the United Kingdom.
“That daily multinational collaboration has really strengthened my ability to build relationships with our Honduran allies while working toward shared operational objectives,” he added.
For Hernandez Fuentes, joining LEAP was a natural way to align his cultural heritage with his military career.
“Coming from Puerto Rico and commissioning through ROTC Detachment 756 at the University of Puerto Rico – Mayagüez, I recognized early on how valuable being bilingual could be,” he said. “LEAP has given me the platform to translate a personal background into an active, operational military asset.”
“I can state unequivocally that having a LEAP Scholar of Hernandez Fuentes’ caliber on the ground was essential to our success,” said Andy Attar, CENTAM Guardian 2027 Lead Planner. “He went beyond facilitating point-to-point discussions; he could work the room, read the atmosphere, and ensure that not just the words, but the context and intent were shared.”
According to Attar, Hernandez Fuentes’ ability to anticipate requirements was remarkable. By proactively identifying and resolving points of friction before they escalated, the captain saved the team hours of valuable planning time and built incredible rapport with Honduran counterparts.
Because CENTAM Guardian involves building a combined task force headquarters with partner nations, Attar noted that communication is the foundation of the entire mission.
“The success of these complex, multi-million-dollar exercises often comes down to the personal relationships and trust built between planners,” Attar added. “A skilled LEAP Scholar does more than translate language; they translate culture. Captain Hernandez Fuentes is a perfect example of that force-multiplying capability.”
“This experience reinforced how vital allied relationships are to national security,” Hernandez Fuentes said. “While language interpretation was my official role, I realized I was also helping build trust. One of the most rewarding parts of the trip was seeing firsthand how much our partners value working alongside the United States.”
Scheduled for next year, CENTAM Guardian 2027 will bring together six to nine nations from Central America and the Caribbean to improve regional security, disaster response, and humanitarian assistance.
For Hernandez Fuentes, representing both his unit and the broader Air Force in this capacity was a rare and rewarding opportunity.
“As an engineer assigned to AFOTEC, this reminded me that every Airman brings unique skills to the fight, sometimes extending far beyond our primary career fields,” he said. “I’m grateful to LEAP, AFOTEC, and my leadership for allowing me to support a mission that strengthens regional partnerships and advances U.S. national security.”