Iraqis learn, overcome challenges of helo ops

Photo By Master Sgt. Paul Villanueva II | Iraqi air force Maj. Rahman abd-Alkarem performs a preflight inspection on a UH-1H...... read more read more

Photo By Master Sgt. Paul Villanueva II | Iraqi air force Maj. Rahman abd-Alkarem performs a preflight inspection on a UH-1H Huey for a gunnery training operation at Taji Air Base, Iraq, Sept. 12, 2008. Abd-Alkarem is a pilot with the Iraqi air force's 2nd Squadron.  see less | View Image Page

TAJI, IRAQ

09.24.2008

Story by Staff Sgt. Donald Branum 

332d Air Expeditionary Wing

✔ ✗ Subscribe

24

TAJI AIR BASE, Iraq -- When a ground commander absolutely, positively needs personnel or firepower delivered at a moment's notice, he calls a helicopter. The U.S. armed forces rely on helicopters for critical missions such as combat search and rescue, close air support and aeromedical evacuation.

Iraqi helicopter aircrews are increasingly in demand as Iraqi security forces assume responsibility of their nation's security from their American counterparts. Four Iraqi air force squadrons train to conduct helicopter operations at Taji Air Base, Iraq, using UH-1 Hueys and Mi-17 Hips. The Iraqi air force's 15th Squadron trains its pilots for special operations, including night operations.

Inside its headquarters building, a dozen Iraqi and American aircrews listened to the 15th Squadron's second commander during a preflight briefing Sept. 11, 2008. Lt. Col. Ahmed Thwinee briefed his two-helicopter aircrews on the weather, the aircraft, the times of flight and the details of an upcoming training exercise.

Ahmed, one of the 15th Squadron's instructor pilots, first joined the Iraqi air force in 1982 and flew with the first Mi-17 Hip helicopter squadron in 1986.

"We know this aircraft and have been flying it for many years," he said. "It's the easiest helicopter to get qualified on." The Iraqi army controlled helicopter operations before 2003 and used the Mi-17s for launching flares, dropping bombs against enemy forces and carrying soldiers into ground assault missions.

The airmen of 15th Squadron are split into three groups because the squadron does not have its own helicopters, Ahmed explained. The first group comprises pilots with more than 2,000 flying hours in Eastern aircraft such as the Hip. The second group includes intermediate pilots with fewer than 2,000 flying hours, and the third group consists of novice pilots with very few flying hours. Their daytime classes include English and radio communication.

After the mission briefing, Ahmed and a handful of Iraqi airmen sat down with Maj. Gary Case and Capt. Mike Volkerding.

"First, it was a very good briefing," said Case, an air adviser with the 770th Air Expeditionary Advisory Squadron who's deployed from Fort Rucker, Ala. "We're happy to see you using our briefing guides and moving forward. Now, where we talk about the exercise is in the middle of the brief, whereas you cover yours at the end ..."

The Iraqi air force heeds the advice of the U.S. Air Force advisers but doesn't always choose to operate the same way, Case said. One example is the Iraqi airmen's work schedule -- they work through mornings and evenings and rest during the sweltering afternoons. The 770th AEAS' Airmen saw the benefits of staying out of the heat and quickly adopted the same hours.

In other cases, the Iraqi airmen change the way they do business.

"After we finish our briefings, we talk about one aircraft system and one emergency procedure just among ourselves," said Volkerding, an Mi-17 pilot adviser who is deployed from the 36th Rescue Flight at Fairchild Air Force Base, Wash. "It keeps our brains alert and primed for the mission."

The assembled airmen went on to discuss the Mi-17's hydraulic systems and the two-challenge rule.

"One pilot may get fixated on one thing," Volkerding said. "If you give the student pilot a command twice, and he doesn't do it on the second try, you take over the controls. The two-challenge rule is always important, but for a young pilot, it's even more important."

The pilots who make up today's Iraqi air force gave up well-paying jobs to serve their country, Ahmed said.

"We want people to feel they are safe," he said. "We want them to feel like someone is looking after their safety. When people see the Iraqi air force flying, they will know that they are protected."