Afghan air force 1st Lt. Abdul Saboor Amin and 1st Lt. Ahmad Fawad Haidari have returned to Kabul, Afghanistan, to begin Mi-17 helicopter pilot training after successfully completing 16 months of language and pilot training in the United States. They are the first two AAF helicopter pilots to finish the entire US pilot training course. In fact, they were the only two of 62 candidates to overcome the English-language requirements and other challenges to complete the course. Amin and Haidari began their training with six months of language instruction in San Antonio, followed by pilot training at Ft. Rucker, Ala. Now back in Kabul, they will undergo six to eight months of Mi-17 conversion training developed by US and Croatian advisors of the 438th Air Expeditionary Wing. Eventually, they will become instructor pilots. (Kabul report by Vladimir Potapenko)
The Pentagon’s new Independent Review Commission on Sexual Assault in the Military has 90 days to find ways to combat the problem within the ranks, and the group will consider all options to address an issue that has “shattered the dreams” of many service members who joined with optimism about…