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“The Iraqi Army, which recently took control of their military's rotary-wing assets from the Iraqi Air Force, uses the Huey primarily as a scout and reconnaissance aircraft.” With this sentence, the announcement of the formation of the Iraqi Army Air Corps was made by Specialist Roland Hale, a journalist for the 1st Infantry Division Combat Aviation Brigade. While there are limited details concerning this reorganization, the known structure of the Iraqi Air Force makes sorting out which squadrons are now Army Air Corps simple. The subordination of the air bases, training establishment, and the future air defense brigade are less...

WASHINGTON, March 25, 2010 – The Afghan National Army’s air corps is critical to NATO’s mission to grow and empower security forces in Afghanistan to fight the Taliban and other insurgents, a top U.S. officer posted in Kabul said today. Air Force Brig. Gen. Michael R. Boera discussed how NATO forces are helping the Afghan government to expand and refine the country’s air power capabilities during a “DoDLive” bloggers roundtable. Boera commands the Combined Air Power Transition Force for NATO Training Mission Afghanistan and Combined Security Transition Command Afghanistan, as well as the 438th Air Expeditionary Wing in Kabul. The...

KABUL, Afghanistan, Dec. 18, 2008 – The Afghan National Army Air Corps has received the first three of six Mil Mi-35 attack helicopters, adding to its growing capabilities. Airmen from the 438th Air Expeditionary Wing and Afghan National Army Air Corps and NATO members load propeller blades onto a flatbed truck in Kabul, Afghanistan, after three refurbished Mi-35 helicopters arrived to join the air corps’ aerial fleet. U.S. Air Force photo by Master Sgt. Keith Brown  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. The helicopters, donated by the Czech Republic, were refurbished by members of Combined Security Transition Command Afghanistan....

WASHINGTON, Sept. 24, 2008 – A team of 170 U.S. 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 is developing mobility missions including presidential airlift, medical evacuation, casualty evacuation, and a general battlefield and...

WASHINGTON, Jan. 24, 2008 – The Afghan army air corps is going through rapid growth, but it will take eight years for the force to be self-sustaining and independent, the commander of the Combined Air Power Transition Force said from his headquarters in the Afghan capital of Kabul today. Air Force Brig. Gen. Jay H. Lindell told Pentagon reporters via video-teleconference that the air corps has doubled its capability since October and that he expects it to double again in the next six months. His 133 U.S. servicemembers are helping the Afghan National Army establish the air corps. Ultimately, the...

WASHINGTON, Oct. 31, 2007 – Highly experienced Afghan pilots soon will take to the skies in newly acquired aircraft as part of a concerted effort to accelerate progress of Afghanistan’s nascent air corps, a coalition commander said today. Air Force mentor Master Sgt. Michael Stoller (second from right) works with members of the Afghan National Army Air Corps at the Kabul International Airport in Afghanistan. Stoller is a vehicle maintenance craftsman and is deployed from Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska. Photo by Master Sgt. Jim Varhegyi, USAF  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. “When you look at the country...

4/13/2007 - KABUL, Afghanistan (AFNEWS) -- At the Kabul International Airport, a joint U.S. mentorship effort is enabling the Afghan National Air Corps to soar toward new heights. "We're helping them build a good process so they can have a healthy, sustaining air force," said Maj. Rudy Alejandro, a fixed wing unit mentor. The ANAC is comprised of three main wings: rotary, fixed and presidential. The Air Force, Army and Marine mentors work shoulder-to-shoulder with their Afghan counterparts to enhance each wing's capabilities. The three wings have combined to perform several operations, such as humanitarian missions and training exercises. The...

Forget Steve McQueen breaking out of the German prison camp astride that motorcycle in "The Great Escape." Never happened. "It was fabricated by Hollywood," says Davy Jones. He should know. Jones, 91, helped dig three tunnels intended as escape routes for Allied airmen held at Stalag Luft III, a remote, top-security camp built in German-occupied Poland. On the night of March 24-25, 1944, 76 prisoners - none American - escaped. Only three made it to freedom: a Dutchman and two Norwegians. Most of the escapees were recaptured. Fifty were shot "We felt despair," says Jones, who became one of the...