Work To Expand Fleet From 27 Aircraft To Roughly 125
A team of 170 US soldiers, sailors,
airmen and Marines have been tasked with recruiting, training and
equipping the Afghan National Army Air Corps.
"Our goal is to develop this Air Corps to be fully independent
and fully operational, capable to meet (the) security requirements
of Afghanistan," Air Force Maj. Gen. Jay H. Lindell told bloggers
during a teleconference yesterday from Afghanistan. Lindell is
commander of Combined Air Transition Force, Combined Security
Transition Command.
The air transition force is developing mobility missions
including presidential airlift, medical evacuation, casualty
evacuation, and a general battlefield and logistical support
capability, Lindell said.
The force is insisting on qualified recruits to populate the Air
Corps, and only the top 20 percent that come through the Kabul
Military Training Center are selected, he said.
New recruits tapped to be airmen or technicians must be
literate, with at least an eighth grade education, he said.
While most of the Afghan airmen lack additional formal
education, they are motivated and eager to learn, Lindell said.
"Their motivation and their willingness and desire to learn, and
desire to be part of this National Army Air Corps, makes up for
maybe their lack of education," he said.
Even among those selected for the overall Air Corps, pilot
selection requires another layer of filtering. Out of the 105 pilot
candidates, Lindell said only the 48 most qualified will attend
training in the United States next year.
"All have university degrees, and all are recommended by
commanders, and all have passed an initial medical screening exam,"
he said.
Further tests will include a flight aptitude exam and a board
selection process to see who is the most qualified.
The transition force also has helped supply newer aircraft,
which was an area of concern for the Afghans."Currently, we have 27
total aircraft with the National Army Air Corps, and we do have a
campaign plan that builds this Air Corps over the next eight
years," Lindell said. "We will build it to roughly 125 aircraft
throughout our campaign plan."
The number of aircraft already has tripled since September 2007,
with planes coming from the Czech Republic, the Slovak Republic,
the United Arab Emirates, and Ukraine, Lindell said. The aircraft
from the Slovak Republic, Czech Republic and Ukraine were
refurbished and financed through the Afghan Security Forces Fund,
while the others were donated by the United Arab Emirates, he
said.
(Aero-News thanks Navy Seaman William Selby, who works for
the New Media directorate of the Defense Media Activity)
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