Iraqi Airmen celebrate National Air Force Day

Photo By Sgt. Samuel Soza | A pilot with the Iraqi air force 70th Squadron conducts preflight checks on a Seabird...... read more read more

Photo By Sgt. Samuel Soza | A pilot with the Iraqi air force 70th Squadron conducts preflight checks on a Seabird Seeker surveillance plane.  see less | View Image Page

CONTINGENCY OPERATING BASE BASRA, IRAQ

04.22.2010

Story by Spc. Samuel Soza 

367th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment

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COB BASRA, Iraq – Seventy-nine years ago, April 22, 1931, five pilots touched down in the al-Washash airport in Baghdad after spending four years in Britain at Cranol college studying aeronautics.

Touching-down touched-off the Iraqi Air Force, and the day is commemorated each year throughout Iraq.

"It is a glorious day recognizing the formation of the Iraqi Air Force," said Brig. Gen. Sami Saeed, Basra Air Base commander. "It is important for every Iraqi. We celebrate it in remembrance for all the sacrifices of the officers and crew and for the unknown airmen of the Iraqi Air Force who have lost their lives."

Before being promoted to base commander, Saeed commanded the Iraqi Air Force 70th Squadron, also based in Basra. The 70th is part of a proposed plan to realign some Iraqi Air Force operations within southern Iraq. Basra Air Base is is co-located with the U.S. Army's Contingency Operating Base Basra. Lt. Col. Phillip Hamilton, 1st Infantry Division Air Liaison Officer and Detachment 1, 368th Expeditionary Air Support Operations Group commander, said it is important to take time to remember history.

"What's important to me as an Airman is certainly different and tough to celebrate 365 days a year – even though it sounds like a great platitude," said the Mammoth Lakes, Calif., native.

"I think it's relevant to any large organization, in the sense that, it is how we as leaders try to differentiate ourselves and our people by inculcating this notion of identity and culture and shared heritage," Hamilton continued.

COB Basra personnel plan to celebrate with speeches recounting history and accomplishments..
Similar celebrations are planned throughout the country. The largest is planned for April 22 in Baghdad, where Saeed expects to celebrate the event.

He has much cause, according to Hamilton.

"He is the Basra Air Station commander and he is the former 70th Squadron commander. I personally believe the success of the Squadron is squarely on his shoulders," said Hamilton. "He has every right to take pride and ownership."

Col. Nazih al-Fahaed, took command of 70th Squadron January 2010 at COB Basra.

Fahaed, like the first Iraqi Airmen, studied aviation in a foreign country. He attended a flight school in France from 1985 to 1989 and even learned to speak French. He said he is proud of the achievements of the Iraqi Air Force.

Even with the long history of accomplishment, history is still in the making, said Fahaed.

Future goals for the 70th Squadron include maintaining their capabilities through training to ensure they are successful in providing intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance. But, they also want to make improvements.

"It's good to acknowledge the accomplishments of our air force but we still need to develop our capabilities," Fahaed said. "It is very important to have good airplanes."

Both Fahaed and Saeed agreed on the importance of better equipment,.

The nature of warfare in modern times – often called "asymmetric" or "unconventional" – has made a strong air force essential, as it provides important elements of precision and quick response, Fahaed said.

The Iraqi air force hopes to be able to purchase F-16 Fighting Falcons by 2013, according to Fahaed.

Hamilton said he sees the Iraqi leaders facing problems familiar to U.S. Air Force leaders, only on a smaller scale.

"They're dealing with a lot of the same issues – procurement challenges, training challenges," he said, "I think getting fresh blood – young officers and pilots who are really going to be the future of the Iraqi air force – that development now is some of the most important things that they can do."
There is also future groundwork being laid for dealing with logistical issues as the air force grows.
Talks about the possible relocation of the 70th Squadron from Basra Air Base to Ali Air Base, also known as COB Adder, have been discussed, though nothing has been decided yet, according to Saeed.

"Ali Base has always been a really important base for the Iraqi air force," said Hamilton, "When you look at its proximity on the map, it's pretty important to the Southern half of the country. I think they want to reclaim that with the idea that, in the future, they'll have an infrastructure and an ability to grow that base."

Deciding how best to position its assets has also been a point of discussion, Hamilton said.

"There are many different views as to how those aircraft should be employed or what strategies the air force should be pursuing and why – whether it's for sovereignty, or border patrol, whether it's for oil pipeline surveys and things like that," he said.

Recently a new air traffic control tower was built at Ali Air Base, in addition to many renovations to pavement and lighting.

Ali Air Base is near the city of Nasiriyah and operates near the Great Ziggurat of Ur, a massive historical site uncovered in the 1920s.

The greatest accomplishments of all have been those made while rebuilding the Iraqi Air Force, said Hamilton.

"It is a testament to their professionalism that they have a sense of national identity, as airmen and as Iraqis, to be an active professional participant in the rebuilding of their air force," he said.

Hamilton also that he is intrigued by the unique relationship between U.S. and Iraqi military partners.
"There are a lot of fascinating personal stories of Iraqi airmen who fought against us in some way, shape, or form, and participated in the past conflicts that litter our history here in Iraq," he said.

"I can tell you that when I go over and talk with 70th Squadron, at the end of the day, they're a lot more like me, and vice versa, than we might sometimes think," he said.

"These are guys who are fighter pilots who love flying. It's their life's calling," he said. "It's what they've done, what they'll continue to do until, like most U.S. Airmen, they get dragged kicking and screaming out of the cockpit."

After the Royal Iraqi Air Force stood up in 1931 – later known only as the Iraqi air force after the July 14th Revolutions in 1958 – the force grew to become one of the largest in the region. It even played an important role in the Iraqi reclamation of the al-Faw peninsula during the Iran-Iraq War.

After the Persian Gulf War, the Iraqi air force sustained heavy losses. During the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003, many aircraft were dismantled or buried in the desert.

Now, since, the toppling of Saddam Hussein's regime, efforts to rebuild the force have been underway.

On March 4, 2007, a wounded Iraqi policeman was taken from the 28th Combat Support Hospital to Baghdad on the first medical evacuation by the Iraqi Air Force.

In 2008, during Operation Charge of the Knights, the Iraqi Air Force provided many hours of intelligence in over 100 missions supporting the Iraqi Army as they attempted to drive the Mahdi army out of Basra city.

The many achievements of the developing Iraqi air force have created a safer environment for citizens to live out their lives, Fahaed said.

"In Baghdad you can stand outside and stay out all night," he said. "Today, in 2010, things are much better. I think our future will be better. I feel optimistic that we will become strong again, God willing."