Democrats will be known for Iraq surrender; Time now for homeland defense
IRAQ OPENS AIR FORCE TRAINING SCHOOL
BAGHDAD — The Iraq Air Force has launched a flight school.
The Iraqi flight training school, located in the Kirkuk air base, was
opened on Oct. 1 in cooperation with the U.S. military. The school, which
capped two years of planning, has already received its first pilots as part
of a process that would culminate in the U.S.-led coalition transfer of the
air base to the Iraqi military.
"Kirkuk may be the first air base returned to Iraqi control," U.S. Col.
Mark
Bennett, commander of the 52nd Expeditionary Flying Training Squadron, said.
"What we are doing here is going to allow Iraqis to provide security for
their country."
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[On Monday, the Iraqi Interior Ministry accused former Iraqi Prime
Minister Iyad Alawi of being linked to a Sunni insurgency militia. The
militia, said to be funded by foreign elements, has been assassinating
Shi'ite clerics in the Najab area.]
Officers said the initial class would contain 10 students and two
Cessna-172 aircraft. They said the school intends to graduate 160 pilots per
year, trained to operate both fixed- and rotary-wing aircraft.
In the first stage, cadets would receive more than 130 hours of
classroom instruction. In the second stage, the cadets would learn to fly
air force platforms.
The Iraq Air Force also plans to expand its air fleet. Bennett said the
air force would deploy 12 Cessna-172s, five Cessna-208s, 12 Bell Jet
Rangers, 10 Huey IIs and nine Mi-17 helicopters by the end of 2008.
"We are not only training new pilots here, we are training former Iraqi
air force pilots to be instructor pilots as well," Bennett said. "In
addition, we are training the Iraqis to perform all the functions of a
flying operation to include aircraft maintenance, intelligence, logistics,
etc. As time goes on, the Iraqi instructors will take over the classes and
we will move from an instructor role to an advisory role."
