Iraqi Air Force Takes Over First-Line Maintenance
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OCTOBER 03, 2006
By Press Release, U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Lucia Newman

Although most of the focus has been on rebuilding the Iraqi Army and Police, the Iraqi Air Force is slowly beginning to stand on its own.
The New Al Muthanna Air Base in Baghdad reached a milestone in September as the base took control of the first-line maintenance operations of their C-130Es from Coalition forces.
"I see this as the first step to branching off into our own air force," said the Iraqi Air Force 23rd Squadron Engineering Flight commander. "This is a big step for us, because as we take control of our military, the next step is to take control of Iraq."
First-line maintenance can be considered the first line of defense for the Iraqi Air Force’s cargo aircraft, ensuring they’re safe, reliable and ready to fly when pilots need them.
Maintenance within the Iraqi Air Force is divided into two categories at the base level: first-line, which equates closely to flightline or organizational maintenance in the U.S. Air Force; and second-line, the intermediate maintenance backshops. Within these two lines of maintenance are various specializations that equate closely to those found in the U.S. Air Force crew chiefs, engine mechanics, avionics, aircraft structural maintenance and aerospace ground equipment, as well as the planning, supply and aerial transport functions that support their operations.
Since January 2004, Iraqi airmen have been training with Coalition forces on the maintenance of the C-130E. Now, maintainers have developed to a point where more and more mechanics are trained and qualified to perform their tasks – getting the planes off the ground – and to train the newest mechanics joining their air force.
"They’ve gone from a point where everyone was working only in a classroom environment learning safety and theory of operations to taking over all responsibility for the launch, recovery and servicing of the aircraft – they do all of the daily executions," said U.S. Air Force Capt. Justin Barry, Coalition Air Force Transition Team maintenance team chief.
"We’ve been blessed because a lot of the (Iraqi) mechanics that work here have between 15 to 35 years of experience working on aircraft in the old Iraqi Air Force. So they’re quite capable of, and familiar with, maintaining the aircraft and its systems," said Barry. "So for us it’s been about providing training and familiarizing them with the maintenance system that we’ve developed for the (C-130E) aircraft."
The C-130E is an intra-theater airlifter with a turbo-prop engine system, which is considered to be very good for low altitude operations. Barry said the Iraqi Air Force was previously using Russian-modeled, straight-jet engine aircraft.
"The turbo prop engine runs at a constant speed, whereas the straight jet engine has a lag time," Barry said. "So they chose this airlifter to fulfill the wide variety of needs for the Iraqi Air Force – from passenger movement to cargo movement, and in the future, air drops to some of the more austere environments."
Barry said the years of experience the Iraqi maintainers have, as well as the fact that the C-130E is widely used throughout the U.S. Air Force, made it easier to put a training regimen together for the Iraqi Air Force.
"We follow a skill-level upgrade system that is very similar to the U.S. Air Force," he said.
According to that system, a 3-skill level, also known as an apprentice, has graduated from technical school and is able to apply his job skills with supervision. A 5-skill level, or journeyman, is considered to be an experienced airman who is able to function as a front-line technician and initial trainer. The 7-skill level is awarded to an airman whose skills put him at craftsman level because of the years of experience he has in his field, and is responsible for supervising and training those in a lower skill level.
Mechanics are required to become task-qualified in their career field. Regardless of their previous experience they are required to master the lowest skill level before moving on.
Barry said Iraqi airmen will not complete the exact same qualifications as U.S. Airmen because the Iraqi Air Force has a different mission and different needs.
"But, by the time they hit the 7-skill level, essentially they’ve completed about 400 tasks," he said.
Task certifications are completed through a combination of classroom study and on-the-job training, which provides personnel knowledge and skill qualifications required to perform duty in their specialty.
Of the 81 mechanics, 49 have received their 7-skill level and 32 are still in upgrade training. After they’ve become proficient in their current skill level, they’ll receive a certificate of completion at the squadron’s skill level upgrade ceremony.
The 23rd Squadron Engineering Flight commander said task certification is a significant step for his mechanics – both officers and enlisted – because now each airman is receiving training on his own responsibilities.
"Although officers know a lot about the mechanics of an aircraft, they now have to take a step back and get into a managerial role and allow their enlisted troops to run the show," the commander said. "Our NCOs are now able to take pride in the work they do," he continued.
Their pride does not stem from just being qualified, but also from other challenges they’ve overcome in getting to this point. "All our mechanics now know English, work with the Americans and eat American food; we’ve become a family," the commander said.
"Also, all our guys have experience in maintenance, but now they have a technical order (task certification) in the work," the commander said. "This means they will receive even more training in their skill. And the third, and the most significant, is the new system," he said.
The new system is one in which enlisted mechanics have greater levels of training and responsibility. In the previous Iraqi Air Force all work that was performed on an aircraft had to be monitored by a commissioned engineering officer.
Now, the enlisted mechanics and warrant officers have the training, the skills and the responsibilities to not only perform the work, but to act as inspectors and evaluators.
As the Iraqi Air Force develops and gains its own identity, Iraqi airmen give credit for their continued success to a new brother.
"We (America and Iraq) were enemies in the war," said the commander. "Now we’re brothers in peace."