Giving Iraq new wings: American airmen help rebuild country's shattered Air Force

Airman, March-April, 2008 by Trevor Tiernan

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Eighteen years ago the Air Force did all it could to destroy Saddam Hussein's military.

Iraq was the region's military superpower. But by the end of the Gulf War. U.S. airpower had devastated Iraq's military and destroyed most of its highly touted air force of more than 500 combat aircraft.

By the end of the 2003 invasion of Iraq, the country's air force lay in ruins. But coalition military leaders knew Iraq needed a strong military to survive and to give the shattered country new hope. It was a decision welcomed by Iraqis like Brig. Gen. Abdul Kareem.

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"The air force is a great symbol for any nation," said General Kareem, commandant of the Iraqi Air Force Training School at Taji Air Base.

Today, a group of more than 300 Airmen is helping rebuild Iraq's air force into a modern, self-sufficient, defense force. The Airmen, from a host of different specialties and backgrounds, make up the Coalition Air Force Transition Team, which Brig. Gen. Robert Allardice commands. He said the team's job is to help Iraq stand up its air force and return to the air.

"By 2003, the Iraqi air force was decimated," General Allardice said. "They didn't have any infrastructure, any people and there were no airplanes flying. It was completely taken apart."

The plan to rebuild Iraq's shattered air force began that same year, with a small group of former Iraqi airmen. By 2005, the Air Force took the challenge of turning a former adversary into a strong ally. But progress was slow. By January 2007, Iraq's air force still did not have an air force academy, a flight training school, a technical school or a basic military training school.

Because of the team's work, all these schools are in place and actively graduating students less than a year later, General Allardice said. Iraq's air force also started to take off, increasing its sortie rate from about 30 missions per week to more than 350.

The general said the hope is that the relationship Airmen are building with their Iraqi counterparts will not only increase the fledging force's power and capacity, but that will make the new air force "understanding and friendly to our needs and interests."

The transition team is working toward that end. Operating from several locations in Iraq, the team's training mission closely follow that used in the training pipeline U.S. Airmen pass through on their way to the operational Air Force. Initial training is at Taji and Rustimayah air bases. Flying training takes place at Kirkuk Air Base. And operational squadrons are flying sorties from Taji, Basra and New Al Muthana air bases.

Familiar training

Staff Sgt. Benny Fields is one of the team members. As a military training instructor, he has trained many new Airmen. But today, his flight is made of Iraqi warrant officer candidates.

"One of the biggest things we can do is show them that--without Saddam Hussein--they can stand on their own two feet and defend their own airspace and borders," he said.

One of six military training instructors deployed to Taji's 370th Expeditionary Training Squadron, Sergeant Fields trains candidates just like he does at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas. He uses equal helpings of guidance, empathy and the occasional "thunderous motivation."

The curriculum, instantly recognizable to any American basic military training graduate, varies only slightly from the Air Force standard. Iraqis get additional professional military education training. The almost 200-hour course covers familiar subjects: Uniform standards, military courtesy, physical fitness, dormitory maintenance and marksmanship. There are also added lessons on leadership, conflict management, counseling, team development and more.

Just as the course material is similar to that of Air Force basic training so, too, are the students that go through the training, Tech. Sgt. James Hamrick said.

"Aside from cultural differences, there's really no difference," the instructor said. "They come up with excuses just the same as (Airmen) back home. But when we show them they've done a good job, they get just as excited and just as re-motivated."

One thing instructors are striving to impart on their students is an appreciation for the core values every American Airman holds true, he said.

"We have our core values of integrity, service and excellence; here we're teaching them the same thing," Sergeant Hamrick said. "While it's going to take a while for them to take that onboard, they're really taking a liking to it."

In addition to basic military training, Taji is also home to the Iraqi Air Force Academy and the basic technical training school. The academy takes college graduates and produces newly minted mulazims, or second lieutenants.

Maj. Stuart Lloyd, deployed from the U.S. Air Force Academy, Colo., serves as the Iraqi Air Force Academy chief. The six-month academy teaches students basic military indoctrination and training, "followership," leadership, doctrine and the history of airmanship. Cadets also learn about small-unit tactics and go through weapons qualification and familiarization, tactical communication and basic aviation ground school.