Air Training School prepares next generation of Afghan airmen

Advisors from Canada’s Air Force assist Afghan counterparts

By Major Glen Parent

Kabul International Airport covers a vast area on the north side of the city. The sprawling complex includes civilian and military air terminals, air cargo centres, and International Security Assistance Force facilities.

One military unit located on the airport grounds represents the future of the Afghan Air Force.

The Afghan Air Training School (or Pohantoon e Hawayee, which means Big Air School) is where new members of the Afghan Air Force learn the basics of flying and maintaining aircraft and running an air unit. They also participate in literacy training, which is incorporated into nearly every course conducted by the Afghan national security forces.

Ten advisors from Canada’s Air Force serve at the training school as part of the Canadian Forces contribution to the NATO training mission in Afghanistan. The Canadian staff are part of 738 Air Expeditionary Advisory Squadron (738 AEAS), a NATO unit assigned to advise the the school’s Afghan commander and his senior staff.

Right now, civilian contractors teach the majority of aircraft maintenance and flying skills. The Canadian advisors working at the training school are helping with a transition to more reliance on Afghan instructors.

Major Mike Juillet of the Canadian Forces works with Afghan instructors to help them develop their teaching skills. He also works with Afghan staff at the school to ensure that course materials are prepared in advance and that instructors are prepared to deliver their lectures.

Maj Juillet is impressed with Colonel Faizuddin, the director of the school’s Combat Arms Training Department. “Colonel Faizuddin is the first fully certified Afghan Air Force instructor at the school,” he said. “He sets the example for the younger instructors. He is a professional teacher who explains things in detail for his students.”

Graduates of the school move on to more advanced training at air bases across Afghanistan, including Kandahar in the south and Shindand in the west of the country. Eventually, many will become pilots or ground crew at units that fly aircraft as diverse as the Soviet-designed Mi-17 “Hip” transport helicopter and Mi-35 “Hind E” attack helicopter, and the Italian-built C-27A Spartan airlifter.

Master Warrant Officer Paul Nesbitt is the chief of logistics at the 738 AEAS and the logistics advisor to the ANA logistics officer at the Afghan Air Training School.

“The staff at this school have a professional attitude, and the students are proud of their accomplishments,” said MWO Nesbitt. “When they are presented with their graduation certificates they hold them high over their heads for everyone to see.”