Air Force Capt. Kacey Grannis, 721st Air Expeditionary Advisory Squadron Mi-17 pilot, talks with an Iraqi Air Force pilot after a mission, Nov. 5. Grannis is the first female Mi-17 instructor pilot for Iraqi Air Force pilots at Camp Taji. Photo by Senior Airman Alyssa Miles, U.S. Air Forces Central, Baghdad Media Outreach Team

A U.S. Air Force officer here is serving as the Iraqi Air Force’s first female Mi-17 instructor pilot, a job she describes as one of a kind.

“My primary duty as an air advisor is to train, advise and assist their pilots by expanding their knowledge base,” said Capt. Kacey Grannis, 721st Air Expeditionary Advisory Squadron, deployed from Andrews Air Force Base, Md.

“I’m an American Air Force pilot flying in an Iraqi Air Force bird built by Ukrainians with an Iraqi co-pilot in a combat zone,” she continued. “Everything from the challenges we have to deal with, to the rewards that we reap from our relationships with the Iraqi co-pilots and the sheer ‘cool’ factor of the flying we get to do is rather unique.”

In the Iraqi military, female pilots are scarce, and upon notification their new advisor would be female, some Iraqi pilots doubted Grannis’ ability to handle the helicopter’s large frame. However, the captain decided to let her skills speak for themselves.

“There have been other female air advisors, but not in this air frame,” she said. “For the guys I was flying with, I think they were maybe not really sure what I could do, but they were at least willing to let me fly with them and let me demonstrate my skills. I was fortunate enough to have the best training in the world, so I was able to do what I know how to do. I believe I’ve garnered the respect I needed.

“One of my very good friends here is a member of Squadron 4′s leadership,” the Sturgis, S.D., native continued. “He’s one of the most experienced Iraqi pilots here – he’s an absolute wizard in the Mi-17 and he’s known for being skilled for hovering without the flight control assist system. When I first got here, he wanted to fly with me to kind of gauge my skills. As we were out flying, I asked him if we could do some hovering with the auto pilot off, simply because I knew it was something he would find valuable if I could do it properly. I feel like the fact that I was able to one – do it, and two – do it well, I feel like he responded well to that.”

Grannis, who has more than 50 hours in the Mi-17, trains Iraqi pilots who have many more hours in the aircraft than she.

“Pilots as a whole tend to be competitive and respect number of hours and skill level,” she explained. “The dynamic itself is very interesting – the pilots we fly with have a lot more experience in the aircraft specifically than we do; there are definitely things that we have as Coalition advisors to learn from these guys. They are definitely the experts on the aircraft systems and the performance handling characteristics. However, we’re not necessarily trying to teach them how to fly; we’re trying to teach them how to employ the aircraft in ways that are different from what they’ve done in the past.”

Outside of the learning environment, the Iraqis have come to view Grannis as family.

“I get a lot of attention because I’m a female, but it’s very respectful attention,” she said. “A lot of times these guys kind of treat me like their little sister which is a great honor to me because I know in Iraqi culture, family is very important. I’m honored that these guys consider me a sister. But, I tell them ‘outside the aircraft, I’m a woman, inside the aircraft, I’m a pilot. And because I’m your instructor pilot, you’re going to do what I tell you to do.’”

One student who has responded well to the captain’s training is Iraqi Air Force Capt. Abdul Jabbar, who says he has no qualms working with another female advisor “if they are as talented as Grannis.”

“Capt. Grannis is the first female pilot I’ve worked with,” he said. “She’s a very good instructor and she has good experience for training and teaching. She always gives good advice and she never gives up.”

With the training he and his peers are receiving, Jabbar has high hopes for his country.

“We’re making good progress with our training, and I hope the Iraqi Air Force is a strong air force for this country,” he said. “I wish peace for Iraq and I wish the Americans a good and happy life, and I hope they wish the same for us.”

Grannis does.

“This has been a great experience,” she said. “I’m very fortunate to have been able to come here and meet all these great people. I’m honored to work with the officers, warrant officers and Airmen of the Iraqi Air Force. Without exception, every one of them is highly patriotic and dedicated to the job they’re doing and dedicated to the idea of a free peaceful Iraq, and I think that’s amazing.”

MNF-I
By Senior Airman Alyssa Miles,
U.S. Air Forces Central, Baghdad Media Outreach Team

Iraqi Air Force 2nd Lt. Harith 'Harry' Saleh conducts a pre-flight inspection on board his King Air 350. Saleh flies surveillance and reconnaissance missions with the 87th Squadron, Iraqi Air Force. Photo by Staff Sgt. Luke Koladish

One of the newest Iraqi Air Force (IqAF) pilots flying reconnaissance missions here is a 24-year-old lieutenant with an easy smile and a cockney British accent.

IqAF 2nd Lt. Harith ‘Harry’ Saleh was born and raised in Baghdad. He was working on a degree in computer science at a Baghdad university when his father, who worked for the Ministry of Defense, first approached him about flying.

“He told me it was an opportunity I would love,” recalled Saleh, “and so I submitted my name.”

After his medical screening, Saleh took his standardized English test, which all pilots are required to pass.

Presently, lieutenants with no flying experience attend Basic Flight School at Kirkuk Air Force Base. In 2005, Saleh was sent to train with the Royal Air Force in Cranwell, England.

Of the approximate 100 pilots attending the 10-month Initial Officer Training Course, Saleh was the sole Iraqi.

“The one thought that kept me going was, ‘if I get through this, I will fly,’” Saleh said.

During his initial training, Saleh learned the fundamentals of being in the military to include combat skills, marksmanship, physical training and discipline.

“The first five months were very difficult,” he explained. “I was a spoiled citizen and I got thrown into this military lifestyle, it was hell at first.”

By the time Saleh completed his initial training, he had become comfortable with military life and adopted a British accent to his English.

Saleh then moved on to Basic Flight Training. The course began by reinforcing his medical training followed by ground school, which he was required to pass before he would ever step foot in an aircraft.

“During ground school you basically almost learn to fly while still on the ground,” he said. “You learn navigation skills, course corrections, principles of flight and mental dead reckoning.

“Things never work out the way you plan them on the ground so it’s important to be prepared to make changes during the mission,” he continued.

For Saleh, flying by the seat of his pants and thinking independently in the air came naturally. This was not the case for all Iraqi pilots.

“Pilots that come back in are required to retrain,” Pennington, who assist the IqAF with command control, said. “They completely depended on commands from the ground; if they were told to turn left, they turned left. They never went out and just flew.”

After completing six weeks of ground school, Saleh finally found his passion in the form of a German made single-engine Grob Tutor.

“It’s a great plane for everything but landing,” he said. “They teach you on a hard plane so it only becomes easier.”

Saleh recalled the first time he felt the wheels leave the ground as the wings of the aircraft carried him into the sky.

“It’s beautiful; it scared me a little bit that I wasn’t scared at all my first time.”

However, he was, like most pilots, nervous about his first solo flight. His landing was not as soft as he would have liked.

“But as you can see, I don’t limp so obviously no major problems,” he said with a smile and a wink.

On Dec. 14, 2008, Saleh completed his training on the twin engine King Air B200 and finally earned his wings.

Saleh reported to the IqAF’s 87th Squadron in February. The squadron has six King Air 350s, five of which are used for surveillance, intelligence and reconnaissance, with the sixth used for transport.

“My family is very proud of me; flying is better than anything else in the world,” he said.

As a co-pilot, Saleh flies with a senior pilot and a mission sensor operator.

“We do our bit to patrol, gather intelligence,” he said. “We are the eyes that watch the guys on the ground digging and planting and they don’t even know we are watching.”

His goal as a pilot is to one day fly the C-130 J.

“I’m very grateful for the Iraqi Air Force, the Ministry of Defense and of course the Royal Air Force. They have done a great job.”

Air Force Lt. Col. Todd D. Pennington, adviser to the IqAF Operations Center, Camp Victory, said the increasing capabilities of the IqAF are essential to protecting Iraqi sovereignty.

The IqAF is assisting the counterinsurgency effort by providing intelligence for the Ministries of Defense and Interior through the Air Operations Center.

MNF-I
By Staff Sgt. Luke Koladish
Multi-National Corps – Iraq

The U.S. Navy and Air Force recently teamed up to support and train the newly formed Iraqi Navy with maritime mission support along the northern area of the Arabian Gulf, where a large percentage of Iraq’s oil is exported.

The first intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance flight took place, April 12, as pilots from the Navy teamed up with ISR operators from the Air Force to provide Iraq’s Navy with a watchful eye over the waters of the Arabian Gulf.

“We flew our first ISR mission in support of Combined Task Force-Iraqi Maritime, which we feel is a significant achievement,” said U.S. Navy Cmdr. Scott Seeberger, King Air Military Training Team chief for the 321st Air Expeditionary Advisory Squadron. “This flight marks the creation of a new alliance between the Iraqi Air Force and the new Iraqi Navy, particularly near Iraq’s oil facilities in the Arabian Gulf.”

Commander Seeberger said ensuring these facilities remain safe is a top priority for his crew.

“It is very important that these facilities are kept safe and the U.S. Navy has a big presence there in terms of ensuring its safety,” he said. “They [Navy] are building up the Iraqi Navy in the Basra area and one of the things they were lacking was an ISR capability.”

As Seeberger piloted the aircraft with the help of an Iraqi pilot, Staff Sgt. Joshua Roden, 321st AEAS mission sensor operator, provided those ISR capabilities from the back of a King Air platform during this aerial support first, while simultaneously advising an Iraqi lieutenant colonel on the process.

“This was a key stepping stone for integrating the Iraqi Air Force’s ISR capability with the Navy and getting them to use their many different wells of technology to work together and create a mission package to protect themselves,” said Roden.

“We received feedback a couple of days after the mission that they [the Iraqi military] were very pleased with the imagery, which leads me to believe the mission was a success and hopefully it is the beginning of a new partnership between the Iraqi Air force and Navy,” added Seeberger.

MNF-I
by U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Tim Beckham,
U.S. Air Forces Central, Baghdad Media Outreach Team

The future of Iraq is in good hands — the hands of Iraqi airmen who are determined to build and defend a new future for their children.

A photographer from our public affairs team and I flew to Taji Air Base, Iraq, Sept. 11. We weren’t entirely sure what to expect as our UH-60 Blackhawk touched down on Taji’s short runway, but we met up with a U.S. Air Forces Central video and photo team and got straight to work.

What we saw were Iraqi airmen dedicated to rebuilding their air force and their country. In less than two years, they’ve grown a helicopter force from a handful of pilots to four complete flying squadrons, including one special operations squadron. They maintain, train on and fly their own equipment — Mi-17 Hips and UH-1P Hueys. American Airmen assigned to the 770th Air Expeditionary Advisory Squadron step in to help when needed and offer tips based on how the U.S. Air Force operates.

It’s not a perfect system. Airmen on both sides have to overcome the language barrier. Many of the 770th AEAS’ Airmen have learned some Arabic since arriving about five months ago, and many of the Iraqi airmen speak at least some English. What’s more, the Iraqis have an eagerness to learn that easily overcomes any barriers.

“The younger Iraqis come to us on a daily basis and ask us, ‘Please sign us off on this task,’” said Tech. Sgt. Lee Everhart, an Mi-17 air adviser with the 770th AEAS who is deployed from the 653rd Combat Life Support Squadron at Robins Air Force Base, Ga. “It’s unbelievable how far they’ve come in the five months we’ve been here.”

The Iraqi and American Airmen share a close bond due to spending time together both on and off duty. The Iraqis gladly share their meals, and the Americans just as gladly share information and expertise. I spoke with an Iraqi helicopter pilot, Lt. Col. Ahmed Thwinee, who flies for 15th Squadron. He is a veteran of the Iran-Iraq War and both conflicts with U.S. forces and rejoined the Iraqi air force when the government reconstituted it.

“Our pilots had good jobs but left them to rejoin the Iraqi air force,” the colonel said. “There’s nothing like flying, but flying to protect people is the best flying.”

He and his airmen have adopted the Americans with whom they work. The Iraqi people now understand that Americans came into Iraq to save its people from a regime that destroyed their fortunes, their culture and their lives, Ahmed said.

“We are grateful for the Americans and their families back home,” Ahmed said. “Their families miss them when they come here. They’re still in our memories and hearts. We will never forget them, and we hope to see them another time as tourists in our country.”

Ahmed is one of many Iraqi airmen working to rebuild Iraq as a free nation. I look forward to the day not far in the future when his vision is a reality.

MNF-I
Commentary by Staff Sgt. Don Branum
332nd Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs

More tales of the Iraqi Air Force by Bill from Argghhh! He’s going to have quite a book to write when he’s done.