SOUTHWEST ASIA: Airmen will teach the first Iraqi air force college pilot-training course beginning in March with Iraq’s new T-6A trainer.
The tandem-cockpit aircraft, that began arriving in Tikrit, Iraq, Dec. 16, is the platform Iraqi airmen will use to transform the college into a cornerstone of Iraqi air sovereignty.
Its also the same aircraft U.S. Airmen fly during pilot training.
“It has a very powerful engine for its size,” said Lt. Col. Charles Westbrook, the 52nd Expeditionary Flying Training Squadron commander deployed from Hurlburt Field, Fla. “It’s fully aerobatic and can do anything and everything you want within the terms of a training platform.
“We’ll use it across the spectrum of training,” he said. “We’ll do contact aerobatic maneuvers with loops and aileron rolls, we’ll also do instrument navigation training with them; move on into low altitude and formation flying to tactical training.”
The first class will consist of more than 20 current Iraqi air force pilots, some who will continue in training to be the first group of instructors at the college.
The T-6 is the second “step” of an 18-month pilot training program. Aspiring pilots must first complete 20 training hours in a Cessna 172 Skymaster learning basic flight fundamentals.
“The difference, obviously, is in the United States they go from a T-6 into either a T-38 (Talon) or T-1 (Jayhawk),” Colonel Westbrook said. “Iraqi students will spend their entire year in the T-6 and move on to operational platforms.”
The more than 20 Airmen in the 52nd EFTS — in careers ranging from maintenance to life support — are preparing the school for the incoming class.
“We’re covering the entire gamut of everything we’ll need to run a pilot training program,” said Lt. Col. Jeff Myer, the 52nd EFTS operations officer, deployed from MacDill Air Force Base, Fla. “Everything from simulator profiles to actual aircraft profiles, developing syllabi; not only primary-training syllabi, but also the instructor syllabus and a senior-officer course syllabus.”
The faculty is also coordinating operational requirements such as air-traffic procedures with the Army aviation unit at Contingency Operating Base Speicher to maintain airspace for T-6 training flights, as well as standing up maintenance and refueling operations to keep the aircraft in the air and train Iraqi ground crews.
“In a nutshell, we’re setting up a pilot training unit similar to what we would see in the United States, but starting from scratch,” Colonel Myer said.
After establishing the cadre, fledgling cadets will begin attending the course. The flight training will be part of a three-year commissioning program.
New candidates will first attend basic military training, followed by advanced military training, English language classes and academic courses.
Following the first year, they will enter flight screening. Those selected will then progress to flight training. Officers will graduate with a bachelor’s degree and a commission and as a second lieutenant in the Iraqi air force.
Those who graduate pilot training will receive their wings.
“I think there is a lot of excitement within the Iraqi air force with the direction they’re headed,” Colonel Westbrook said. “They’re an integral part of the Iraqi defense forces and establishing and maintaining a secure society where their people are free and able to function in the new democratic government.
“Last week, Iraqis held elections for their council of representatives,” he said. “And the Iraqi air force was an integral part of maintaining secure locations for the people of Iraq to express themselves — and their will — in this new sovereign nation.
“With little more than 5,000 people, the Iraqi air force still has a nationwide impact,” Colonel Westbrook said.
They were able to put reconnaissance and overwatch missions in the sky over polling points, a matter of great pride for the Iraqi air force and the Iraqi people.
“The T-6 is a source of pride for their air force,” Colonel Myers said. “We’ve done off-station training and had pilots from Kirkuk (Regional Air Base) who fly the 172 and the Cessna 208 come in. The smiles on their faces when they see the airplane, for Colonel Westbrook and me both, it makes us very happy to see that. They’re very much interested in the next step and they’re excited about the program.”
“Everywhere we go, whether it’s Taji, Kirkuk or Baghdad, we always draw a crowd,” Colonel Westbrook added. “They’re not only interested in the airplane, but what it means for their future.”
