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First flight to help rebuild Iraqi air force leaves Tinker

  • Published
  • By John Parker
  • Tinker Public Affairs
TINKER AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. --  The first U.S. military delivery in three years to Balad AB, Iraq, arrived recently with a 57,100-pound cargo shipment from Tinker AFB on a C-17.

The flight was the first of numerous missions planned over the next two years to fulfill Iraq's multi-billion dollar purchase of

F-16 fighter aircraft, airfield operation equipment and construction supplies to rebuild air base operations at Balad.

Tinker AFB is the hub for the ongoing airlift mission. The 72nd Logistics Readiness Squadron will be handling an estimated 8 million pounds of aircraft parts, ground support vehicles and other cargo on transport planes bound for Balad.

Lt. Col. John Rozsnyai with the 62nd Airlift Wing, Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash., was the aircraft commander for the flight. He noted the last time a U.S. military cargo landed in Balad was in 2011, the year the United States returned Joint Base Balad to Iraqi control.

Iraqi leaders are rebuilding their country's air force and have been clamoring for fighter capability to battle insurgents. Congress approved the sale of Fighting Falcons to Iraq.
"They're excited for this equipment," Colonel Rozsnyai said. "They've been looking forward to this for a while."

The first shipment included a Halverson 25K aircraft loader, aircraft arresting barriers for emergency landings and 10 pallets of cargo, said Steven Max, chief of Air Terminal Operations and Passenger Movement, 72nd Logistics Readiness Squadron.
"These are the building blocks of the Iraqi air force," Mr. Max said.

During the war in Iraq, Joint Base Balad was one of the busiest air bases in the world, tallying 27,500 takeoffs and landings per month in 2006, according to Reuters news service.