Photo By Sgt. Roland Hale | Sgt. Douglas Miller, an air traffic controller assigned to Company F, 2nd General...... read more read more
Subscribe
CAMP TAJI, Iraq – In addition to flying joint missions with the Iraqi Air Force, Soldiers of Combat Aviation Brigade, 1st Infantry Division are moving their mission of partnership with Iraqi forces into the realm of air traffic control at Camp Taji.
Working with Soldiers from Company F, 2nd General Support Aviation Battalion, 1st Aviation Regiment, the Iraqi personnel are learning how to effectively manage the air traffic control tower on Taji Army Airfield.
"We're trying to move ourselves, the Iraqi Air Force, forward," said Lt. Yassen, an Iraqi air traffic controller. "The Iraqi Air Force used old rules for air traffic control; the Americans are teaching us the modern, new ways to do it."
The job requires intensive training and an intermediate understanding of the English language – the universal language of air traffic control – so, in addition to working with the CAB Soldiers, the Iraqis also attend basic aviation management courses and aviation-specific English classes.
"It's a big team operation up here now between us, the Iraqis and the U.S. Soldiers," said Patsy Thomas, a civilian trainer from Washington Consulting Group. Thomas, and several other civilians, are responsible for the certification of the Iraqi air traffic controllers.
CAB Soldiers help train the IqAF personnel by observing and assisting them throughout their daily operations, said Thomas. Under supervision, the Iraqis are currently operating a large portion of the systems in the tower. However, there is still a need for the presence of the CAB Soldiers, said Staff Sgt. Mark Flater, assigned to Company F.
"We help them out and are also required to monitor [equipment] systems that they aren't yet authorized to operate," said Flater.
As the two forces work side by side in the tower, they face the biggest challenge posed to any Iraqi-American partnership: the language barrier.
"It's probably the biggest difficulty we've had so far, but we practice with them all day and you see that they catch on," said Flater. "I've seen a big improvement in their capabilities just in the time I've been here."
In addition to making progress in the tower, Flater says the Soldiers of Company F have made personal ties with the Iraqis; during their down-time, they sit and talk about things as any Soldiers do – from differences in culture to the similarities of their military careers.
The CAB's Soldiers will continue working in the control tower over the length of the unit's deployment, gradually transferring more control to the Iraqi controllers.
| Date Taken: | 04.21.2010 |
| Date Posted: | 04.23.2010 04:43 |
| Story ID: | 48562 |
| Location: | CAMP TAJI, IQ |
| Web Views: | 218 |
| Downloads: | 160 |
This work, CAB Soldiers teach air traffic control methods to IqAF, by SGT Roland Hale, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
No keywords found.
LEAVE A COMMENT