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Iraqi Air Force enhances capabilities with instructor school

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Eric Schloeffel
  • 506th Air Expeditionary Group Public Affairs
KIRKUK REGIONAL AIR BASE, Iraq --  The Iraqi Air Force has continued rebuilding efforts to become a credible and capable military entity by recently establishing the Flight Instructor School for Iraqi pilots.

The school puts the most experienced of Iraq's operational pilots into the classroom and cockpit at the Iraqi Flying Training Wing here in an effort to teach the fundamentals of flight instruction.

The Coalition Air Forces Training Team - a collection of U.S. servicemembers who advise and train Iraqi Airmen - took the lead on planning and implementing the new program. The school is a new edition to CAFTT's mission at the training wing here, which opened in October 2007.

Seven Iraqi pilots are currently enrolled in the first class at the school, but more pilots will make their way through classes planned for the future.

"This is a huge step for us - six months ago we were figuring how to get the initial students off the ground, and now we're building an instructor course for the entire Iraqi Air Force," said U.S. Air Force Maj. Scott McCartt, 52nd Expeditionary Flying Training Squadron instructor pilot and FIS flight commander.

"All the pilots attending the Flight Instructor School are very excited about this opportunity," said an Iraqi Air Force captain attending the course. "This is a new course for us, and we hope to learn how to instruct so we can make Iraqi pilots better."

The school is designed to model the U.S. Air Force Air Education and Training Command program on grooming operational pilots to become flight instructors.

Course instruction includes a mixture of academics, simulator-time and flying the Cessna 172 aircraft. The last portion of the training places a U.S. pilot in the pilot seat, while an Iraqi Airmen puts practice into play as an instructor.

Operational pilots flying CH-2000 and Cessna 208 aircraft were chosen for the class and are expected to bring their newfound knowledge back to their units.

"The Iraqi Air Force established this course because of their need for instructor pilots," said U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Mark Bennett, 52nd EFTS commander. "Flight Instructor School will take experienced pilots who flew in the former Iraqi regime and make them instructors. Once they graduate, the pilots will go back to their units and get top-off training in their specific airframe.

"It's very similar to how we do instructor training in the states," the colonel added. "In the U.S. Air Force, a pilot must go back to the schoolhouse to get the foundations of instruction before returning to their squadron for airframe-specific mission training."

A few students who complete the course are expected to stay at Kirkuk's Iraqi Flying Training Wing to help new pilots earn their wings in the Cessna 172 and 208 aircraft during undergraduate pilot training.

In addition to operational enhancements, feedback provided from Iraqi pilots hinted at the need of an instructor school.

"The Iraqis asked us to help them create a credible course to qualify their pilots to be instructors," said Colonel Bennett, deployed from Randolph Air Force Base, Texas. "In the old Iraqi Air Force, there was a tremendous amount of prestige associated with being an instructor pilot within a flying unit, so this school is very important to them."

As part of the school's initial phase, the Iraqi pilots are currently undergoing extensive English training before delving into more technical material. While the Iraqi pilots have just begun their instructor training, they have been working extra hours to learn the new material, said Major McCartt.

"The pilots are very interested in everything we're teaching -- a very encouraging sign" said Major McCartt, deployed from Columbus AFB, Miss. "Once the Iraqi pilots can bring back this baseline knowledge of instruction back to their squadrons, skills levels throughout the Iraqi Air Force will improve.

"We are giving them the skills needed to take ownership of their air force," the major added. "The faster we can get them ownership, the better it is for everybody. The Iraqi Air Force is reaching a point where it can show the Iraqi public they have a credible force that can carry out a variety of missions."

The students also seem to feel they are genuinely benefiting from their coursework and look forward for opportunities to use their new instructor skills in the field.

"This is another example of the successful relationship between the (U.S.) Air Force and the Iraqi Air Force," said the Iraqi Air Force captain. "The information I'm learning here will allow me to share the best flying techniques with other pilots, which will help our air force. I think all of the pilots at the instructor school will really improve their skills."