Doing It All

The first Iraqi Air Force C-130 mission carried out by an all-Iraqi aircrew took place on 28 November. The nine-member crew from Iraq's 23rd Airlift Squadron took off from Ali Base near Tallil, performed an engine running on-load at New Al Muthana, a military base collocated at Baghdad International Airport, and then returned to Ali. The 23rd AS has been training at Ali Base since 2005. New Al Muthana, the only dedicated Iraqi air base, is now the new home to three C-130E Hercules transferred from the US Air Force. The squadron moved to Baghdad in January.