Operation Enduring Freedom

KABUL, Afghanistan – An Afghan Air Force Airman receives a certificate for graduating from the Mi-17 helicopter engine and body maintenance course at the Afghan Air Force Base in Kabul, Afghanistan Jan. 1. The ten Airmen who graduated on Jan. 1 become the first troops to complete the course, one seen as critical by AAF officials as the Mi-17 assumes its position as the centerpiece of the force. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communications Specialist Second Class Vladimir Potapenko/RELEASED).

Operation Enduring Freedom

KABUL, Afghanistan – An Afghan Air Force Airman is congratulated for graduating from the Mi-17 helicopter engine and body maintenance course at the Afghan Air Force Base in Kabul, Afghanistan Jan. 1. The ten Airmen who graduated on Jan. 1 become the first troops to complete the course, one seen as critical by AAF officials as the Mi-17 assumes its position as the centerpiece of the force. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communications Specialist Second Class Vladimir Potapenko/RELEASED).

Operation Enduring Freedom

KABUL, Afghanistan – Afghan Air Force and Mongolian Air Force Airmen pose for a photograph after a graduation ceremony honoring the completion of the Mi-17 helicopter engine and body maintenance course at the Afghan Air Force Base in Kabul, Afghanistan Jan. 1. The ten Airmen who graduated on Jan. 1 become the first troops to complete the course, one seen as critical by AAF officials as the Mi-17 assumes its position as the centerpiece of the force. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communications Specialist Second Class Vladimir Potapenko/RELEASED).

Afghan Air Force Airmen first to graduate Mi-17 engine and body maintenance course

Published Jan. 2, 2011
By Mass Communication 2nd Class Vladimir Potapenko
438th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs

KABUL, Afghanistan -- Ten Afghan Air Force Airmen graduated from the Mi-17 helicopter engine and body maintenance course at the Afghan Air Force Base in Kabul, Afghanistan Jan. 1, marking the first time AAF troops completed the training.

"It was hard but rewarding, and eventually we were successful in learning the material," said Lt. Nabiullah Ahmadi.

The graduating Airmen, both officers and enlisted, completed the course even though there existed a natural language barrier--none of the in the instructors in the Mongolian led course speak Dari or Pashto, and none of the AAF Airmen speak Mongolian.

To circumvent the dilemma, students and instructors found a middle ground built upon a foreign influence: Russian. Three of the course's students learned Russian during the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan and were able to act as translators for the Soviet influenced Mongols.

Yet regardless of the language, it was determination and the will to learn that bridged the gap between students and instructors.

"They worked very hard. They put in maximum effort and truly demonstrated the want to learn, which ultimately helped transform these Airmen from Mig-21 maintainers to Mi-17 maintainers," said Mongolian Air Force Maj. Dashdorj Tuvshinsaikhan, one of the course instructors.

Split into separate one month units consisting of classroom based familiarization and practical, hands-on application, the course, totaling over 200 hours of instruction, gives students more than just a working knowledge of the Mi-17 engine and body, said Tuvshinsaikhan.

"I am proud to be a professional now," said Ahmadi.

Next, the graduates wait for orders and distribution throughout the AAF strongholds of Kabul, Kandahar, Shindand, Herat and Jalalabad. However, regardless of where they go, the newly trained Airmen are entrusted with an important task:

"The Mi-17 is the centerpiece of the Afghan Air Force, and the AAF is going to have the Mi-17 for the next 25 years. So, take this knowledge, build upon it and share it with those that come behind you," said Lt. Col. Joseph Giuliani, the rotary wing maintenance commander for the 440th Air Expeditionary Advisory Squadron, as he addressed the graduates as a guest speaker.