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North to south: U.S. defenders train Iraqi partners

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Jason Lake
  • 321st Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs
KIRKUK REGIONAL AIR BASE, Iraq --  More than a dozen Iraqi air force security forces students took a step closer toward autonomous base security after graduating from a training course taught by Iraq Training and Advisory Mission-Air advisors April 7.

The two-week course aimed to prepare the initial cadre of Iraqi airmen planning to take over defense of certain areas of the base in the near future, said Master Sgt. Travis Talton, ITAM-Air's security forces advisor who led a three-man team of U.S. Air Force security forces.

Since the training program began earlier this year, Sergeant Talton and several security forces volunteers from U.S. bases throughout the country have trained more than 50 Iraqi Airmen at Kirkuk RAB in the north, Hawk and New Al-Muthana bases in central Baghdad, and Ali Air Base in the south.

"Our goal is to provide the Iraqis with the basic air base security skills so they can perform perimeter security, as well as flightline and gate security," explained Sergeant Talton, a 15-year security forces veteran deployed from the 90th Ground Combat Training Squadron at F.E. Warren Air Force Base, Wyo. "The first week of training is mostly academic, while the second week is more hands-on training with practical evaluations and a final exam."

Sergeant Talton said the course is essentially a condensed version of the U.S. Air Force's three-month security forces defender training taught at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas. The training comes as Kirkuk's base transition teams prepare Iraqi security forces to integrate into a joint base defense role as U.S. forces transition out of certain areas of the installation.

Tech. Sgt. Daniel Delossantos, who forward deployed from Ali Base to help train the students, said the course also serves as a supplement to technical school training Iraqi defenders receive at Camp Taji in central Iraq.

"A lot of what they got from us was specific to their role as air base defenders - like conducting vehicle searches," said Sergeant Delossantos, a 17-year security forces veteran deployed from the 355th Security Force Squadron at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Ariz. "We taught them the fundamentals they'll need to work with. Now it's in their hands to build upon what they learned and continue to practice the skills we taught them."

Senior Airman William Beals, who also volunteered to forward deploy from Ali Base to help train the Iraqis, said the course was a unique opportunity to see more of Iraq and learn about its culture on a more personal level.

"It's been a good experience," explained the senior airman who plans to sew on staff sergeant soon after he returns to the 18th Security Forces Squadron at Kadena Air Force Base, Japan. "I learned a lot about Iraqi airmen, their culture and what their lifestyle is like."

But more work remains as the Iraqi air force continues to grow in anticipation of the U.S. transition.

At Ali Base's 407th Expeditionary Security Forces Squadron, Sergeant Delossantos and Airman Beals plan to train another group of Iraqi airmen as soon as they return from Kirkuk, while Sergeant Talton said he plans to train more Iraqi airmen at the northern base once Kirkuk's BTT receives a new security forces advisor.