HERAT PROVINCE, Afghanistan - Afghan airmen are frequently seen soaring through the skies of Herat province in Afghan air force MI-17 helicopters.
However at Shindand Air Base they've discovered it takes more than pilots to keep their air force moving forward, and are learning valuable self-sustaining support skills.
Meanwhile, coalition forces advise the training. Afghan air force officers and non-commissioned officers are teaching new AAF airmen and NCOs a wide-array of skills to eventually support their own air base, said Italian Aeronautica MilitareCol. Girolamo Iadicicco, Italian Air Force Provider Team commander.
Iadicicco works hand-in-hand with U.S. airmen from the Air Force's 838th Air Expeditionary Advisory Group.
Some skills that AAF airmen are sharpening are: POL (petroleum, oil and lubricant) maintenance, refuelling, security forces, computer operations, fire department operations, antenna and communications systems , medical , vehicle operations, and administrative.
“We are working with the U.S. Air Force to help extend AAF capabilities,” said ITAF 1st Lieutenant Marshall (equivalent to an American warrant officer) Emilio Poli, POL advisor. “These Afghan airmen are very motivated and thirsty for knowledge.”
Poli and his fellow advisors typically spend their mornings assisting in POL training and advise AAF NCO's on hands-on MI-17 refuelling training in the afternoons, or as real-world needs arise.
Meanwhile, removed from the flightline and tucked away in a newly-build medical clinic, ITAF Lt. Col. Alberto Autore, flight surgeon, advises an AAF doctor, four NCO technicians and an airman on medical issues relating from routine clinic work like flight physicals to more-extreme issues like responding to aircraft mishaps and mass casualty scenarios.
“We're at ground level in standing up an AAF medical clinic,” said Autore. “We currently support roughly 300 AAF airmen and about 400 Afghan National Army soldiers. However, we need to grow to a much larger capacity as in the future, the Shindand clinic will likely support several thousand Afghan troops.”
The AAF doctor agreed and said he will need fellow doctors, more NCOs and definitely more airmen to sustain future operations without coalition assistance.
Dr. (Maj.) Ghalam Shah said his team is fortunate to have an Italian flight surgeon and other coalition mentors on hand to help facilitate training as his team continues to see actual patients.
Nearby at the Nato Training Mission-Afghanistan fire house, U.S. Air Force Master Sgt. Matthew Hansen and two ITAF advisors train Shindand's first two AAF firefighters on responding to a downed helicopter.
With lights flashing and sirens wailing, AAF firefighters Abdull Fatho and Asis Ahmed moved at high speeds toward an old Russian helicopter March 6. Once on scene, they egressed their fire truck, and as Fatho extinguished the simulated flames, Ahmed entered the helicopter, simulated turning off the fuel system, electrical power, and pulled a simulated pilot out of the blaze.
“This is important because we can rescue a downed pilot and save lives,” said Ahmed, who recently completed the four-month basic fire academy in Kabul.
“If I don't extinguish a helicopter quickly and turn off the power and fuel supply, a downed helicopter can quickly become a gigantic bomb,” said Ahmed.
Coalition air force leadership are pleased with the rate AAF airmen sponge up training and have high hopes for the AAF’s future.
“It’s an honourable mission to advise the AAF at its infancy,” said Iadicicco. “Someday this air force and these airmen will be responsible for protecting their homeland, supporting ground soldiers and securing their skies.”