California Guard members prepare Iraqis for heavy-duty mission

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By Army Spc. Matthew Wright

California National Guard

CAMP TAJI, Iraq (10/3/11) – In preparation for the upcoming assumption of operations by Iraqi Security Forces here, Soldiers from Alpha Company, 640th Aviation Support Battalion recently conducted a week-long class training Iraqi army personnel on Heavy Expanded Mobility Tactical Trucks.

The M978M HEMTT fuel truck is a 10-ton, eight-wheeled, fuel servicing vehicle. It is a bulk liquid transporter that holds 2,500 gallons of fuel and is equipped with a fuel resupply module for pumping fuel.

Iraqi personnel were trained to not only operate and maintain the fuel vehicles, but also to conduct training for other Iraqis on operating and maintaining the HEMTTs.

Army Staff Sgt. Rory Huerta, noncommissioned officer in charge of the training program, said the Iraqis would be receiving six brand new HEMITTs.

“We need to make sure that they understand how to not just drive them, but conduct preventive maintenance and services on the vehicles as well as fuel their vehicles and aircraft,” Huerta said.

The 40 hours of training started with the 640th familiarizing the Iraqis on HEMTT basic preventative maintenance.

As the course continued through the week, the Iraqis received training on driving the vehicles and operating the fueling system, including fueling of other vehicles and aircraft.

After familiarization and fueling training, 640th Soldiers taught Iraqi personnel instructional techniques for training other Iraqi troops on the HEMTTs.

Iraqi army Capt. Ali, the senior Iraqi officer in the class, said he was impressed with the training and its usefulness for Iraqi personnel.

“The class is providing very good information for us,” Ali said. “This experience will be good for the warrant officers and the fueling specialists that I have worked with for 25 years.”

The training of Iraqi personnel on the HEMITTS was important because they will soon assume responsibility for these services that American Soldiers. The ISF will take over the support of operations here as well as the full base operations.

Army Lt. Col. Lou Carmona, battalion commander of the 640th ASB, delivered a speech during the graduation ceremony at the conclusion of the training.

Carmona said he was proud of the outstanding manner in which A Company accomplished its mission, as well as the importance of the training for the ISF.

“This equipment is an important capability for the Iraqi army,” he said. “It represents the ability to project aviation into parts of the country where little or no infrastructure exists.

“At the end of the day, my Soldiers were able to connect with the Iraqis.”

California Guard members train Iraqis on generator maintenance

By Army Spc. Matthew Wright

40th Combat Aviation Brigade

CAMP TAJI, Iraq (7/20/11) – The California Army National Guard’s 640th Aviation Support Battalion is working with the U.S. Air Force Base Transition Team to train Iraqi Army personnel on the maintenance and operation of backup generators for the airfield here.

The Headquarters Support Company of the 640th ASB currently maintains and operates the flightline generators on the Iraqi side of the airfield. It is working with the BTT and the Iraqi Air Aviation Command to eventually have Iraqis maintain the generators themselves.

The generators provide backup power to the airfield’s main power grid in case of an outage.

“As we begin to transition, eventually it will be the sole responsibility of IqAAC to maintain the generators,” said Air Force Master Sgt. Lydia Crouse, a member of the 321st Expeditionary Mission Support Advisory Group of the 1st Detachment and part of the BTT.

Army Sgt. Salvador Lopez, HSC, 640th, a generator mechanic has been training the Iraqis to operate the equipment.

“Our main job is to train the Iraqis on how to properly maintain the equipment on the airfield,” Lopez said.

The 640th’s generator mechanics drive to the Iraqi side of the airfield each week. They meet with Iraqi mechanics as well as Iraqi trainees who come to learn how the generators work.

Crouse says the 640th has identified this as a long term issue for the IqAAC and has set up maintenance training once a week.

The purpose of the training is to ensure the IqAAC has the skills to properly instruct their own soldiers on the equipment to help maintain the airfield and the base, he said.

“The level of previous training received by the IqAAC was limited,” Crouse said.

Lopez says the Iraqis are now taught the basic preventative maintenance checks and services and a basic level of maintenance the Army uses.

Warrant Officer Rashid from the IqAAC was on hand for the training from Lopez.

“I am looking forward to what we [the Iraqi soldiers] can learn from this cooperation,” Rashid said.

Rashid observed and asked many questions and seemed pleased with the training he was getting from the 640th.

The Iraqis said they are very happy with this cross training from the U.S. military, the BTT and HSC in particular.

“We have received very positive feedback,” Crouse said.

The cooperation with the generator training has been positive for both sides. “We are building a good relationship with them,” Lopez said.

The Iraqis are expected to inherit the equipment, providing the incentive for the training

40th CAB

California Guard Member Spc. Lowelly Santos, Apache Mechanic for the 8-229th Attack Reconnaissance Battalion, 40th Combat aviation Brigade, puts the finishing touches on his unit’s insignia on a blast-resistant wall outside the command office on Camp Taji, Iraq on March 31, 2011. Painting insignias one these walls is a tradition in deployed areas to illustrate previous ownership of the battlespace to future units. (U.S. Army photo by: Spc. Darriel Swatts, Public Affairs, 40th CAB)

Historic Launch Held at Camp Taji

By Cpl. Nathan Hoskins, USA
Special to American Forces Press Service

Oct. 22, 2007 - The residents of this camp are exposed to an incessant buzzing -- a sound of safety for the troops on the ground in Multinational Division Baghdad area of operations. The source of all this racket is the 1st Air Cavalry Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division's unmanned aerial vehicle launch site.

The soldiers of Company E, 615th Aviation Support "Cold Steel" Battalion, have been working day and night pushing the limits of their equipment to ensure troops on the ground in Baghdad have an extra set of eyes overhead and setting records in the process, said 1st Sgt. Joseph Bell, the senior noncommissioned officer for Company E.

"We have recently passed 30,000 flight hours, which is almost double what (the previous unit) flew," said Bell, who hails from Jacksonville, Fla. "Our goal was to actually reach 25,000 (flight hours), but then we passed that. We just keep pushing the envelope."

Pushing the envelope is now the standard for Company E, which assists several brigades within the Multinational Division Baghdad area of operations, along with whomever else happens to be rolling through the area, Bell said. Exceeding their goal has had a positive effect on morale throughout the ranks.

"I'm excited because I feel I'm a part of a team. I feel like I helped contribute to make those numbers where they are," said Galveston, Texas, native Sgt. Christopher Willis, a UAV crew chief and technical inspector for Company E.

"That number is outstanding; everyone is going to try to duplicate that," Willis said.

Along with being a part of a team that has set the standard for UAV operations, Willis also got to be a part of history when he let Iraqi Lt. Gen. Abud Qanbar, commanding general of Baghdad Operational Command, launch his aircraft Oct. 14. He was not only the first Iraqi general to launch a UAV, but also the first Iraqi to do so, Bell said.

"We would like to see more of our Iraqi counterparts come and actually see what we're doing to help them out," Bell said.

After giving a quick briefing about the procedures, Willis handed over the controls to Abud.

"I was excited that he got the opportunity to launch an aircraft. I just made history; I'm a part of history," Willis said with a big smile.

Letting Abud launch his aircraft was a big deal for Willis. Not only because he made history, but because that aircraft is his "baby." He said he doesn't let just anyone touch it. He is with it from launch to recovery, he said.

"When it's on the launcher, we go around it two or three times just in case because you can forget something the first time around," Willis said. "So we take this job very seriously and make sure that we get that airplane up."

With all numbers and accolades aside, Company E soldiers work hard for a singular reason, Willis said. "I honestly like what I do; ... I like the positive feedback from launching every aircraft, because I know that we're getting eyes in the sky for those guys on the ground," he said.