Airmen help Iraqis get C-130s off the ground

Photo By Staff Sgt. Engels Tejeda | Air Force Capt. Jeremy Smith, an instructor navigator for the new Iraqi air force, prepares for a flight on board a new Iraqi C-130 aircraft. Though American airmen fly along on each mission, Iraqi airmen are handling everything from piloting to loading and unloading the planes. Photo by Staff Sgt. Engels Tejeda.  

11.08.2005

Courtesy Story

207th Public Affairs Detachment

By Spc. Spencer Case

High above the roads traversed by the new Iraqi army is another sign of progress - cargo planes adorned with the Iraqi flag.

At Logistical Support Area Adder, over 100 Iraqis are working with advisors from the U.S. to establish the first C-130 squadron in the new Iraqi air force. Though the crew members and maintenance team must keep their names and faces hidden for their own safety, they are proud of their accomplishments. In another seven months, they should be a fully functional C-130 squadron without U.S. advisors.

"My family is very proud of me, but they worry about terrorism," said a captain and pilot of Squadron 23 (Transport). "I am very proud to give a hand to enable my country and make my country the best inâ?¦the Middle East."

Since the squadron was formed in January, it has become increasingly functional and independent, said Air Force Maj. Roger Redwood, an advisor for the unit who flies in the co-pilot seat.

"I"d say now we're doing 60 percent missions, 40 percent training," Redwood said.

One mission that stands out in the minds of both U.S. advisors and the Iraqi crew took place in mid August. The unit flew a boy and his mother from Baghdad to Basrah so that he could be sent to the U.S. for a heart transplant.

"You could see it in their eyes that it meant a lot to them," said U.S. Air Force Capt. Jeremy Smith, a navigation instructor and advisor to the unit, about the heart transport mission. "You could see the sense of accomplishment that they were helping one of their own [instead of] the U.S. helping them. They were very proud."

About a week after the heart mission, they transported over 300 Iraqi troops to Tal Afar for their first combat airlift mission, which was the first time the Iraqi air force directly assisted other Iraqi forces in the War on Terrorism, Smith said.

Today, the unit is flying complex missions that involve making several stops and transporting a combination of passengers, vehicles and other cargo. They fly two or three missions per week, which adds up to around 20 flight hours per month. Though this is about ten hours less per month than a comparable U.S. unit would fly, Smith said the work load is steadily increasing.

Learning to run a C-130 unit in the middle of a combat zone is no easy task, said Smith, adding that the unit has attracted small arms fire on numerous occasions.

"This is the world's most challenging C-130 schoolhouse," Smith said.

Nevertheless, U.S. advisors say the Iraqi squadron is doing well considering the circumstances.

"We train them basically the same way we train our guys," Smith said. "We hold them to the same standard. They are smart guys and they know what they're doing."

"Our primary mission is training them at this point, we want to get them to a point where they're fully sustained on their own to be able to operate just like any other C-130 squadron worldwide," Redwood said. "We are well on our way to that, so they are doing very well."

• Date Taken: 11.08.2005
• Date Posted: 11.08.2005 13:55
• Story ID: 3668