New Iraqi recruits get a leg up

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Jarrod Chavana
  • U.S. Air Forces Central Public Affairs
CAMP TAJI, Iraq --  More than 330 Iraqi air force recruits marched in a parade before beginning their initial basic military course Dec. 28, at Camp Taji, Iraq.

Normally recruits attend the 12-week BMT course at the Iraqi Army Regional Training Center prior to reporting to the air force training school on Camp Taji for a course called BMT Top Off. However, the RTC did not have the capacity to house the recruits until January 2010.

Instead of sending the recruits home, Master Sgt. Paula Gaffney, a BMT instructor and Air Force advisor, suggested they have the BMT Top Off first, according to Maj. Bill Holl, the 821st Expeditionary Training Squadron chief of Professional Military Training.

Because the trainees remained at Camp Taji, they received additional training they wouldn't normally get at the BMT Top Off course. 

"Over a period of three weeks, the BMT Top Off course teaches recruits what kind of air force benefits they will receive, rank structure and leadership," Major Holl said. "Since the recruits were brand new, the staff incorporated discipline, marching, and drill during the morning and academics in the afternoon."

This class is the largest group to graduate since 2007.

"Because of money restraints, basic military training was suspended for nearly a year," Major Holl said. "These recruits graduating is a very big accomplishment for several reasons. Other than being the largest class to graduate, it's the first time the Iraqis were trained solely by Iraqis with very little U.S. involvement."

With the drawdown of troops, the U.S. mission is to help the Iraqi schoolhouse build a self- sufficient, self-enduring technical training course. This will allow Iraq to build its own military, trained by its own people, without the need of coalition forces.

"The instructors are completely certified," Major Holl said. "As far as basic training goes, the Iraqis have an outstanding group of instructors.

"They have been doing this for nearly a year-and-a-half and they have done a great job of preparing these recruits for basic training," he said. "With the quality of leadership and preparation, the Iraqi air force has shown they are well on their way to having an enduring air force."

Lt. Col. Ali Hussein Muhaimeed, the Iraqi Air Force Training Squadron BMT director, is pleased with the recruits.

"We are very proud to see one of the first groups to build our new Iraqi air force," he said. "We want our air force to be built on the modern sands of Iraq."