Mission complete for two deployed pilots

  • Published
  • By Valerie Mullett
  • 341st Space Wing Public Affairs Office
MALMSTROM AIR FORCE BASE, Mont. --  After spending five weeks training with the 6th Special Operations Squadron out of Hurlburt Field, Fla., in the fall of 2007 to learn the necessary skills associated with raising a new unit, Capts. Marc Milligan and Shane Werley departed for a year-long special duty assignment they volunteered for in Iraq. The two pilots with the 40th Helicopter Squadron here have spent the past 12 months bringing flight back to the fight for the Iraqi Air Force, and it was quite a challenging fete. 

"Our mission [to train Iraqis how to fly helicopters in combat missions] was very important," said Captain Werley. "We were there to give them back their Air Force, which in turn, will give them back their country." 

The challenges started the minute they set foot at their new home in Iraq. 

"We knew what was expected of us before we went over there, and we knew we'd have a lot of work ahead of us to meet those expectations," said Captain Milligan. 

A few issues that needed to be worked through immediately were basic things such as access to computers, electricity, office space, training plans and other key logistical support. Not to mention the fact their aircraft, UH-1H "Huey II" helicopters, would not arrive until two to three months later. 

"We had to come up with a plan," Captain Werley said. "We had a deadline to meet to have these pilots trained and flying by May 1." 

In addition to Captains Milligan and Werley, there were three other American instructor pilots and three American flight engineers to assist them. They also had 22 unqualified Iraqi pilots with no previous UH-1H experience, and little-to-no flying time in the past 15 years that needed to be trained. 

Other obstacles presented themselves in the early days; some they expected and others they didn't. 

"The language barrier we knew would be one of our biggest challenges," Captain Milligan said. "But English is the universal language in the aviation world, so this was a challenge we knew about and had to take seriously." 

What they did was design a "crash course" in aviation English and incorporated it into their ground schooling for flight training. Only four of the 22 pilots had good English skills and none of the American instructors had any Arabic language skills, the captains said. 

Factor in cultural differences along with the trainees concerns for the safety of their families and mission accomplishment for the two pilots became even more difficult. 

"As Americans we have a different cultural background and this was something we had to learn to work with," Captain Werley said. "It wasn't a simple case of giving orders. We had to lead by example and hope they would follow in our footsteps. They were very eager to step up to the plate and do their part." 

In spite of the obstacles the duo had to overcome, they did see successes. 

The first five aircraft arrived in mid-February. By April, the first five mission-qualified Iraqi pilots graduated and on April 22, the first Ministry of Defense-directed mission was flown, with mixed American and Iraqi crews - ahead of their May 1 deadline. 

May was a big month for the newly created 2nd Iraqi Helicopter Squadron and its military advisors. Five more helicopters arrived; the first all-Iraqi training flight "inside the wire" was flown, six Iraqi aerial gunners graduated and they started flying missions outside of the Baghdad area of operations. 

"At this point, I had to puff my chest out a bit and I can tell you I am extremely proud of reaching these milestones and all the Iraqi's accomplished," Captain Werley said.
In June, the Iraqis received, processed, planned, briefed and flew their first full mission without any American guidance. 

July saw daily missions increase from three per week to five-to-seven per week, while the training of new pilots and gunners continued. 

Also that month, the first four-ship mission "outside the wire" was flown as well as the first joint mission with another Iraqi Air Force Squadron. 

In August, six more helicopters arrived and another huge milestone was reached when the first all-Iraqi mission was flown outside the wire. 

September and October milestones included more mission-related accomplishments and when it was time for Captains Milligan and Werley to start packing to come home after their year instructing, the numbers were counted: More than 900 sorties and 1,000 hours were flown since Feb. 19, 2007. 

"This was the most production of any Iraqi Air Force Squadron," Captain Werley said.
Incredibly humbled by this year-long experience, the two pilots are thankful they had the opportunity to be part of something so important. 

"I always wanted to find the 'tip of the spear' since I came into the Air Force," Captain Werley said. "Marc and I were there." 

When they left on their deployment a year ago, both captains had reached the end point of their tour at Malmstrom. They have now departed the base for their new duty location, quite fittingly, at the 6th SOS at Hurlburt Field, where they will continue in their military advisor roles in an environment they've become quite accustomed to.