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Iraqi, American pilots continue traditions

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Eric Schloeffel
  • 506th Air Expeditionary Group Public Affairs
KIRKUK REGIONAL AIR BASE, Iraq --  A fraternal organization of U.S. pilots invited their Iraqi air force counterparts to 'break bread' during one of the group's recent official sessions here.

Several members of the Order of Daedalians, an association composed of U.S. military pilots, organized the event in an effort to help strengthen bonds with Iraqi air force pilots and maintain fraternal traditions during their deployment. Most of the U.S. pilots who attended the meeting are assigned to the Coalition Air Forces Training Team - an organization dedicated to training Iraqi airmen at their flying training wing here.

The Daedalians chapter at Kirkuk was only recently founded, and the meeting with Iraqis was considered a big step for the program, said Col. Timothy Strawther, 506th Air Expeditionary Group commander.

"The original idea for the meeting came from CAFTT pilots who wanted to help establish a fraternal organization here that mimicked the Daedalians," said Colonel Stawther, a 20-year Daedalian member. "I suggested starting an affiliated chapter here at Kirkuk and CAFTT made it happen.

"The CAFTT program has come so far to help establish the Iraqi air force training program, and an event such as a Daedalian meeting helps highlight the great work being accomplished," the colonel added. "Along the way, we can find a large amount of common ground with pilots who may have been adversaries in the skies above where we stand today."

The Order of Daedalians started in 1934 after World War I pilots decided to create a group to share and celebrate the aviation experience. The group is named after Greek mythology figure Daedalus who achieved flight. The organization's headquarters is at Randolph Air Force Base, Texas.

The event included dinner and was held inside a CAFTT hangar. Several fraternal traditions were upheld during the meeting, such as various toasts and speeches. More than 20 Iraqi airmen took part in the meeting.

"The meeting highlighted how far we are coming on several levels, but especially the fellowship now enjoyed between former adversaries working together for a common good," said Lt. Col. James Adamski, 52nd Expeditionary Flying Training Squadron instructor pilot and event organizer. "During their earlier years, some of these Iraqi pilots flew MIG-25's -- an aircraft I grew up modeling.

"It was always this mystical aircraft to me, and now I've talked to people about their experiences flying it," added Colonel Adamski, who is deployed from Dyess AFB, Texas. "Sharing these experiences in a social setting brought us closer which is what this event was all about."

As an experienced F-16 instructor pilot and the commander of Kirkuk Regional Air Base, Colonel Strawther was the event's guest speaker. His speech focused on how maintaining the brotherhood of aviation is important within the context of current endeavors in the deployed environment.

"We have the best Air Force in the world, and our training, equipment, maintenance and honest perspective serves us well," said Colonel Strawther, who is deployed from Randolph AFB. "Sharing our approach to this business will only help the Iraqi air force become a strong ally in this region. I have found people make the difference when you really need to get something accomplished. The future leaders of Iraq are being trained right here, right now."

The Iraqi airmen in attendance also seemed to feel the event was beneficial for the relationship between air forces, said Iraqi air force Col. Abdul Karim Il-Zubdy.

"In the past, we had events like this for our Iraqi air force, but sadly most of that was lost," the colonel said. "It reminded me of when I was a young lieutenant or captain. It also made me happy to sit with American and Iraqi pilots at dinner so we could share our experiences.

"We are looking forward to the future, and not just aircraft, but cooperation between brothers who support each other," he added. "Many of our Iraqi pilots are still young, so they can learn a lot from the experiences of the Americans during these events. I really believe the meeting helped us become more like brothers and was good for the partnership between us."