An official website of the United States government
A .mil website belongs to an official U.S. Department of Defense organization in the United States.
A lock (lock ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .mil website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

CENTAF/CC visits Camp Taji Airmen

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Trevor Tiernan
  • U.S. Central Command Air Forces Public Affairs
CAMP TAJI, Iraq --  Camp Taji, located approximately 20 miles northwest of Baghdad, is home to the 370th Expeditionary Training Squadron. Airmen assigned to the squadron are helping rebuild the Iraqi Air Force. The 370th ETS' cadre is made up of officer and enlisted Airmen from varied Air Force career fields.

"Rebuilding the Iraqi Air Force is one of the most important missions we have in the country," said Lt. Gen. Gary North, U.S. Central Command Air Forces and Combined Forces Air Component Commander, while visiting the Airmen there. "As the Iraqi Air Force becomes more self-sufficient and takes over more of the missions our Airmen are doing, it will reduce the need for our Air Force here, and will help ensure the sovereignty of the nation."

Across several bases in Iraq, the 370th ETS' parent unit, the Coalition Air Force Transition Team, is establishing training programs covering everything needed to build an air force. The bulk of the program is at Camp Taji's Iraqi Air Force Training School. The school runs four different programs: the Air Force Academy, the Air Force Officer's Course, Basic Enlisted Training and Basic Technical Training.

"We started about 18 technical training schools that we will have going by next spring," said Brig. Gen. Robert Allardice, CAFTT commander. "We graduated people from four of these [courses] already. None of that existed in the beginning of this year."

The academy and officer's course are both six-month long programs designed to produce commissioned officers; Basic Enlisted Training teaches drill, base defense, physical training and airmanship to the enlisted corps; and Basic Technical Training prepares all the Iraqi airmen--officer candidates, warrant officer candidates and enlisted members--by providing in-depth technical training for maintenance and operations support.

Iraqi student pilots flew their first flights in new Cessna 172 aircraft on Oct. 1st and their first solo flights a month later. In addition to the training taking place at Taji, fully trained Iraqi helicopter crews have begun flying combat missions from the base.

"I saw a tremendous amount of pride in the eyes of the Iraqi Airmen. They are proud of their aircraft, which are in great condition, and they are proud to be flying combat missions and integrating with the Iraqi army for the first time," said Lt. Gen North.