U.S., Iraqi military work together to safeguard country

Published Aug. 30, 2007
By Senior Airman Christie Putz
Multi-National Security Transition Command - Iraq Public Affairs

TAJI, Iraq -- Much like veins pumping blood to the body's vital organs, underground pipelines crossing the country carry Iraq's most precious resource: oil. Disruption to either of these systems can cause problems, but the latter on a grander scale, affecting the economy of an entire country.

The Iraqi military has taken part in the protection of these lines, as well as the electric lines that supply power to local homes and businesses, by placing surveillance forces in the air and on the ground.

"We've combined the Iraqi Air Force reconnaissance capabilities of their Cessna aircraft that flies high and looks out for potential (enemy) activity with Huey helicopters that fly down lower and look for additional activity and specific damage to platforms," said U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Cy Bartlett, 770th Air Expeditionary Squadron commander at Taji.

According to a recent U.S. Government Accountability Office report, millions of dollars of government revenue are estimated to be lost each year to oil smuggling or the diversion of refined products, an activity that many of Iraq's residents find upsetting.

"It makes me angry," said Iraqi Maj. Mohammed, a helicopter pilot at Taji military base who requested his name be changed for security purposes. "That's not for him (the terrorists), that's for all of the Iraqis."

The GAO report also states that a variety of criminal, insurgent, and militia groups engage in the theft and illicit sale of oil to fund their activities.

In preventing this flow of money to the insurgents, and keeping the natural resource flowing to residents, the IqAF is using their growing aircraft fleet to keep an eye on pipeline activity.

There are currently 35 helicopters assigned to the IqAF, split between the Bell UH-1H Huey IIs, Bell 206B JetRangers and Mil Mi-17 Hips. That's double what the military had the year before, and there are plans to triple it next year, said U.S. Army Lt. Gen. James M. Dubik, MNSTC-I commanding general.

In other plans for the future, the general talked about building an air assault capability into the Air Force. "This capability will allow us to shift around the battlefield with ground forces," he said.

It will also allow them to engage if smuggling activity is spotted, versus calling in ground forces.

"Every little bit we can stop in terms of oil stealing, or every little bit we can stop in terms of destruction of electricity increases the economy and increases what services the government can give the citizens," said General Dubik.

The pilots at Taji base don't take this mission lightly. Being a part of the growing military and stopping these acts of terrorism promotes a sense of pride among the unit.

"It's a very important feeling for me," said another one of the Taji pilots, through an interpreter. "It makes me feel proud."

This sense of pride is renewed when he flies over neighborhoods and cities and is greeted by people on the ground, waving back at them. "They think they are more secure when they see a helicopter flying in the air," he said.

Already in 2007, the Taji unit has flown more than 100 missions outside the wire, exposing them to not only appreciative citizens on the ground but also enemy contact.

"They're susceptible to automatic weapons fire from AK-47s, there's a threat of rocket-propelled grenades and also the threat of some surface-to-air missiles," said Colonel Bartlett. "So far we've been very fortunate not to experience any combat damage to the Iraqi aircraft."

The Iraqi helicopters operate in the same areas as Coalition helicopters, and are open to the same risks, but currently fly a fraction of the Coalition aircraft hours.

In 2006, the unit only had 300 flight hours. However, this year they already have more than 1,300 hours in training missions, passenger movement and infrastructure protection and assessment - or a combination of the three.

"Training a pilot takes a lot longer than buying an aircraft," said General Dubik.

So even while training new pilots, they are concurrently conducting surveillance missions - an initiative proposed by the Iraqi pilots themselves. "That's the key," the general said. "Not wait until you're trained, but train and fight at the same time.

"This is not a military that waits around," he added. "They want to get in this fight, and they want to support their Army on the ground."

Editor's note: Senior Airman Putz is deployed from the 92nd Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs office.