On Dec. 28, the Iraqi military held a ceremony for the completion of the
largest basic training course since 2007. Officials said more than 330 air
force recruits graduated from a 12-week course at Camp Taji. They said the
course had been delayed for nearly 18 months.
Officials said the Defense Ministry was hampered by a 30 percent cut in
the budget for 2009. They said the budget, nearly a third of the ministry's
request for $12 billion, led to a suspension of training, recruitment and
procurement in all arms of the military.
The Defense Ministry's budget cut also blocked infrastructure programs
required for the housing of recruits. The Iraq Army regional training center
failed to complete its program to house recruits, a deadline for which was
re-set for early 2010.
In the end, Iraqi and U.S. commanders rearranged the military's training
schedule and allowed the 330 recruits to report to air force school before
the completion of basic training. Officials said the course, the largest by
the air force, was under the command of the Iraqi military.
"Other than being the largest class to graduate, it's the first time the
Iraqis were trained solely by Iraqis with very little U.S. involvement,"
Holl said. "The instructors are completely certified. As far as basic
training goes, the Iraqis have an outstanding group of instructors."
In 2010, Iraq also accelerated training in specialty skills. Officials
cited mortar, helicopters and commando courses.
The Iraq Air Force has about 2,000 personnel, the majority of them
holdovers from the Saddam Hussein regime. The military service has fallen
way behind in plans to triple its force by the time the U.S. military leaves
Iraq in late 2011.
Officials said the new cadets would help man the expanded fleet of
fixed- and rotary-wing aircraft in the Iraq Air Force. The service has been
preparing for deliveries of U.S.-origin aircraft throughout 2010.
"We are very proud to see one of the first groups to build our new Iraq
Air Force," Lt. Col. Ali Hussein Muhaimeed, the Iraqi Air Force Training
Squadron BMT director, said. "We want our Air Force to be built on the
modern sands of Iraq."