US Airmen teach weaponry handling skills

CAMP TAJI — U.S. Airmen with the 721st are educating IqAF members on the proper handling of aircraft weaponry. Their mission is to teach the Iraqis how to safely build, maintain and inspect UH-1H Huey, Mi17 flares, and machine guns in accordance with Iraqi and American regulations.

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"Our personnel are trained experts on the machine gun, and they've a very intimate knowledge of that weapon on how to clean it, disassemble it, repair it, and make sure it operates properly," said Tech. Sgt. Howard Beck, 721st AEAS armament advisor. "I've seen them instruct the gunners – many of who are still relatively new, on how to take care of the weapon. I've watched them ... know exactly what to do when a weapon jams and how to handle it. They've done an admirable job. I think it's inspiring." According to Tech. Sgt. Christopher Saffel, 721st AEAS ammunition advisor, "they're almost completely self-sustaining" with the munitions they handle on Camp Taji. "My predecessors got them on the right track with basic info on weapons and explosive safety," said Saffel. "They've come a long way in a year and a half." The Iraqis have proven their capabilities in alert scenarios, where they successfully had a helicopter ready to take off with fully operational weapons within a 15 minute notice, a result that Saffel feels is worth the time spent inside the classroom and this year-long deployment he signed up for. "This has been an outstanding op," Saffel said. "It's very fulfilling to come here and make a difference, just based on your experience. Their culture is highly based on experience, and they know when you come in, you're the subject matter expert on what they're doing, because we do it the right way -- and they're adopting a lot of our practices. This has definitely been the best assignment in the 16 years since I've been in -- it's absolutely unbelievable. I'm glad I volunteered."

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