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Airman wraps up rewarding tour teaching Iraqi cadets

  • Published
  • By Senior Master Sgt. Trish Freeland
  • AFCENT, Baghdad Media Outreach Team
RUSTAMIYAH, Iraq --  Teaching leadership in a foreign land was never part of his career plan, but that's exactly what Capt. Tom Fiordelisi has been doing for the last 12 months at a forward operating base near Baghdad.

Fiordelisi served as Commandant of Cadets for ROTC Detachment 630 at Kent State University in Ohio before deploying to Iraq. Part of his duties there included teaching leadership to college sophomores, something that would prepare him for his job at the Iraqi Military Academy as a member of Multi-National Security Transition Command-Iraq's Coalition Air Force Training Team. The Seymour, Conn., native discovered that young Iraqi students are not much different from their American counterparts.

The leadership course he teaches is part of a grassroots training program that prepares cadets for careers in the Iraqi Air Force officer corps.

"Like any other 20-year-olds, you give them a challenge, make that challenge reasonable and attainable as a goal, and they'll step up to the challenge," said Fiordelisi.

"We are at the entry-level for officer training here at the Iraqi Military Academy Al Rustamiyah," said Fiordelisi. "These officers will climb though the ranks rapidly. They will soon be lieutenant colonels, colonels and possibly even generals if they are fast-tracked."

"In the U.S. Air Force, we have quite a few mid-level leaders, the captains and majors that have core experience and are training our lieutenants and junior captains," said Fiordelisi. "Iraq doesn't have that mid-level management experience."

To fill the void faster and effectively, the Iraqi cadets spend a good portion of the year-long course focusing on English language training. After the cadets successfully complete the English language course, they move on to officer-specific training including instruction in leadership and followership. From there, Iraqi cadets get commissioned and enter career-specific training.

Cadets Ali Talib and Hassan Ali completed the officer training course and are awaiting pilot training once they are commissioned later this month. To qualify for pilot training, they had to score a minimum of 70 on the English Language Proficiency Test.

"English is very useful for everyone because it's an international language," said Ali Talib. "Wherever you go, you can always find someone who can speak English."

Hassan Ali not only excelled at mastering the English language, he also scored well on the pilot qualification exam. But the training he found to be especially inspiring was the leadership-by-example he saw from Fiordelisi.

"He was knowledgeable, kind and a very good leader," said Hassan Ali. "I saw the way he treated other people and how he talks to his subordinates and the senior officers and he was amazing for doing that."

Fiordelisi will redeploy back to the U.S. just a day prior to seeing his last class graduate, but the experience has forever changed both the captain and his cadets.

"They will hopefully continue to use the leadership principles we are teaching them now," said Fiordelisi. "As officers, they'll gain experience and knowledge as they grow older and become key leaders here in Iraq and allies to the U.S."