Kirkuk, Iraq- Part of the effort to give the Iraqi military the ability to be independent and to fend successfully for itself got a shot in the arm recently with the delivery of five 2008 modern USA Bell Jet Ranger helicopters.
The five helicopters are part of a series of aircraft shipments to the Iraqi Air Forces, and they arrived in Iraq aboard a USA C-17 Globemaster III aircraft on December 3rd.
These helicopters will later be joined by five more Bell Jet Ranger helicopters, and they will combine to be part of what will eventually be known as Iraqi Air Force Squadron 2. These helicopters will be used mostly as training aircraft for instrument training, while other helicopters, the OH-58 helicopters which have arrived before will be utilized for the other parts of the Iraqi Air Force training program.
Chief Warrant Officer 4th Class Alton Campbell is the Iraqi Security and Training Management Organization Action Team Chief, and he works to supervise the delivery and equipping of the Iraqi Air Force personnel.
“It is part of our commitment to help the Iraqi Military develop, we are providing aircraft that they can sink their teeth in and will give the students and instructors more tools to use,” said CWO4 Campbell.
As the helicopters arrived they were inspected and then assigned to the Iraqi Training squadron for use. The overall forces and SATMO team members are all coalition experts on rotary and military aircraft and they make sure that everything is shipshape and ready to go.
