B*N*S*N3

Iraqi Air Force Increases Training Capabilities with Newly Acquired Aircraft Thursday, 10 July 2008 By Army Staff Sgt. Michael J. Carden American Forces Press Service Army Lt. Gen. Frank Helmick, left, commander of the Multi-National Security Transition Command - Iraq, and Iraq's defense minister, Abd al-Qadir al-Mufriji, sign documents transfering ownership of 11 Cessnas from U.S. forces to the Iraqi air force during a ceremony July 9, 2008, at New al Muthana Air Base in Baghdad. Photo by Staff Sgt. Michael J Carden. BAGHDAD — U.S. forces transferred ownership of 11 aircraft to the Iraqi Air Force July 9, during a ceremony at New Al Muthana Air Base. Army Lt. Gen. Frank Helmick, commander of Multi-National Security Transition Command Iraq, signed over eight Cessna 172s and three Cessna Caravan 208s worth more than $9 million to Iraqi Defense Minister Abd al-Qadir al-Mufriji. U.S. Air Force Brig. Gen. Brooks L. Bash said the aircraft would be part of the Iraqi Air Force's training program at Kirkuk Air Base in northern Iraq. Similar to the way the U.S. Air Force conducts its own training, the smaller Cessna 172 is the initial aircraft Iraqi pilots will learn to fly, while the Cessna Caravan 208 is the more advanced, graduated version, the commander of coalition air force training in Iraq added..... (read more here)