And It Wasn't Your Typical Checkride
Dressed in a tan flight suit adorned
with the Iraqi Flag, an LA Dodgers hat and aviator sunglasses, one
pilot is helping his country take a step closer to having an
independent air force.
With help from US Airmen, Iraqi Air Force Maj. Thagel took his
last training flight prior to being certified as a mission
commander in the Iraqi air force July
20.
"The mission with my American instructors was the last step
before I can become pilot in command," said Major Thagel, a
35-year-old Iraqi C-208 or Cessna Caravan pilot.
Major Thagel is helping lay the foundation for an autonomous
Iraqi air force, said US Air Force Lt. Col. Terry Wheeler, 870th
Air Expeditionary Advisory Squadron director of operations and one
of Major Thagel’s instructors.
His last training flight took Major Thagel, Colonel Wheeler and
an Iraqi mission sensor operator to northern Iraq to gather
intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance photos of critical
electrical infrastructure.
During the flight, Major Thagel demonstrated his ability to
coordinate air space with air traffic controllers, practice
emergency procedures and to perform touch and go
landings.
"Our whole focus here is to get them to the point where they can
accomplish their missions without US Air Force help," explained Lt.
Col. Jean Havens, 870th AEAS commander and Major Thagel’s
evaluator on his upgrade check ride. "By training them to become
mission commanders, we can step back and let them take
control."
To become a mission commander in Iraqi Squadron Three, the
upgradee must meet several requirements. First, he must be checked
as a first pilot or co-pilot, requiring the upgradee to process
basic knowledge of flying aircraft, radio, checklist and emergency
procedures and he must accumulate 100 hours flying as a first
pilot.
After these requirements have been met, the Iraqi Squadron
commander will recommend the first pilot for upgrade. "He did very
well on his check ride," Colonel Havens said. "We did a mission and
observed 500 electrical towers from Kirkuk to Baghdad. I basically
judged how well he did while flying the aircraft while
orchestrating the mission."
Most of the pilots have a basic knowledge of flying, but they
haven’t flown in several years, she added. Major Thagel
learned to fly when he attended the Iraqi Air Force College in
1993. The Iraqi major explained that during Saddam’s regime,
pilots flew old aircraft and were given limited control over their
missions.
"The American instructors are helping us fly new aircraft and
showing us different operating and training procedures," said Major
Thagel. "They are teaching us how to fly Cessna Caravans with ISR
capabilities and how to use these new systems in order to save our
country."
"The Iraqis here in the Iraqi Squadron Three have the capability
to do everything on their own except evaluate their own training;
at this point, we’re here to facilitate the training aspect,"
Colonel Wheeler said. "The 870th AEAS helps to advise and continue
the progress from the training squadron. Our responsibility is huge
- we are charged with helping the Iraqi air force become self
sustaining."
There are 25 pilots and co-pilots in Iraqi Squadron Three; Major
Thagel is one of six Iraqi pilots who have become Cessna Caravan
mission commanders with training from US Airmen.
"I take great pride in what I do here. By training these pilots,
we are helping a nation rebuild itself and being a part of that is
incredibly rewarding," said Colonel Havens.
"I love this mission. These guys are like my family," Havens
added. "This is my second tour with these guys. It is neat to be a
part of the rebirth of a country’s air force. I love it!"
(Aero-News salutes Staff Sgt. Andrea Thacker, AFCENT
Combined Air and Space Operations Center. Photo by USAF Staff Sgt.
Aaron Allmon)