Certificates have been delivered to the Afghan crews who will be deployed in the rotating wing sector of the Afghan Air Force on the MI-17 helicopter
“Today is a great day for the pilots, for all of us who belong to the young Afghan Air Force, and for the entire nation.”Conquistando these words, the Commander of Basedi Shindand opened the ceremony, to which Colonel Luigi Casali of the Air Force and Colonel J.J. Hokay, Commander of the 838th Air Expeditionary Advisory Group (AEAG) of the United States Air Force, who declared:’Here in Shindand, the collective effort of the Afghan Air Force and the NATO Forces on the ground is to ensure a safer nation in the near future.”.
As part of the 838th AEAG, the Air Force is providing its contribution with two groups of ’Advisors“, the Airbase Support Air Advisory Team (ASAAT) and the MI-17 Air Advisory Team (MI-17 AAT), which, under the command of Colonel Casali, carry out daily training and ”advising“ activities for the Afghan personnel belonging to the various units of the Shindand military airport, the future training hub for the entire Afghan Air Force, and for the future crews assigned to the MI-17 helicopter. In 2011, 6 classes were approved for a total of 48 students, divided between pilots, flight engineers and flying crew chiefs.
“Thanks to the work of the men of the Italian Air Force, Colonel Casali took the floor, The Afghan Air Force is making remarkable progress towards full autonomy. The Italian advisors have established basic specialization courses in both the communications sector and in the various sectors supporting flight operations.
Colonel Alfonso Cipriano, Senior Instructor on MI-17, stated: “The pilot training courses in Shindand include the basic 1st Phase, co-pilot and Chief Crew Member. We also train flight engineers and flight crew chiefs, who are an integral part of the MI-17 flight crew, with theoretical ground lessons and training flights. The activity is carried out in cooperation with colleagues from the Hungarian Air Force, who boast decades of experience with this helicopter. The training in Shindand is equivalent to the training conducted at the 72nd Squadron in Frosinone and at the Air Force Operational Departments.”.
The mission of the ASAAT, which began on November 2, 2010 and is conducted by Officers and Non-Commissioned Officers of the Air Force, expresses a daily awareness-raising and encouragement for key Afghan personnel, in order to foster the growth of individual awareness and belonging to the Squadron and the Afghan Security Forces. In this context, numerous courses related to flight operations and infrastructure in various sectors are included: personnel management, operational information, financial administration, telecommunications and information technology, transportation, material management, fire prevention, POL (Petroleum Oil Lubricants), health care, canteen and accommodation, security forces, power generator and civil engineering.
The mission of the MI-17 AAT, which began in July 2011 and was conducted by pilots, Flight Engineers and Flight Crew-Chiefs of the Italian and Hungarian Air Force, has the purpose of facilitating the transition of the Afghan Air Force to the MI-17 helicopter through training flights and theoretical lessons on the ground. In the months preceding the mission, all the “advisors” of the ASAAT and the MI-17 AAT attend a specific course at the Didactic and Managerial Training Center of the Italian Air Force in Florence, with the aim of acquiring the necessary skills to fulfill the assigned mission. In addition, the crews of the MI-17 AAT undergo specific training in the United States for the qualification on the Russian-made MI-17 helicopter. .
