Afghan air university takes dynamic formal stride

  • Published
  • By Capt. Anastasia Wasem
  • 438th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs
KABUL, Afghanistan (AFNS) --  Taking one more step to becoming Ministry of Defense accredited, Afghan air force leaders at Pohantoon-e-Hawayee "Air University" signed six newly developed training decrees May 4 at Kabul International Airport here. 

The implementation of these decrees marks the first time the school had standard operating procedures for the teaching of the students.

"I have been waiting for this day for a long time," said Col. Mahmood Rahman, the commandant of PeH, said. "Today we are signing paperwork that will play a critical role in the future of the Afghan air force. This is a very positive start for a brighter future."

The Afghan air force Air University provides force development around three pillars: education, leadership development and professions training, which includes classes in combat arms, combat services, professional military education and maintenance.

The decrees, created by the PeH officials, are vital to the teaching of these classes and include training requests at PeH, instructor qualification policy, instructor supervisor qualification policy, PeH library sign-out and maintenance policy, training material review policy and instructor waiver policy.

The development of these decrees began in January when Capt. Tom Hines, the PeH standards and evaluations adviser, deployed to the unit.

"There was no set way of teaching; no continuity for new people coming in to PeH," Hines said. "Anything that was passed down was by word of mouth only."

Hines suggested the idea for decrees and the implementation of standard operating procedures to the PeH Afghan air force leaders and they immediately began to execute the idea. It became a team effort between the PeH education department and the NATO Air Training Command-Afghanistan advisers to design and develop each guideline.

The decrees are designed to allow flexibility and change to the procedures as the Afghan air force and PeH both continue to grow and develop. The Afghan air force can edit the system easily based on future requirements.

"Solidifying the principles that guide our training source is vital," said Lt. Col. Mateeullah Shinwari, the PeH chief of staff. "It sets the basis for the entire Afghan air force through this education center."

Some of the major changes include instructor qualification and courseware standardization. All instructors must go through a 120-hour mentoring class for each subject taught. This ensures instructors are well versed and educated on each course. In addition, there is now a standardized course curriculum for each class, including standardized syllabus, lesson plans, study guides and presentations.

This guarantees that no matter who is teaching a given class, the course work remains the same.

"I'm looking forward to putting these decrees into action," Rahman said. "The instructors are hopeful that the curriculum will be enriched and to develop more courses in the future. The decrees signed today will help us reach that goal."

PeH is the Afghan air force Air University and is the technical school that new recruits attend after graduating from basic training at the Kabul Military Training Center. At any given time, the school is home to 400 to 800 students and more than 430 Afghan instructors, staff members and leaders.