321st
Air Expeditionary Wing
Iraq Training and Advisory
Mission - Air Force
(ITAM-AF)
Iraq Experience
Jan-Aug ’10
“YJCMTSU”
Major Greg D. Tolmoff
UNCLASSIFIED
Overview
 Pre-mission Preparation
 My Personal Goals
 Getting There
 The Mission
 Iraqi Air Operations Center
 Joint Air Operations Integration Team
 The Iraqis
 The Americans
 Takeaways
2
UNCLASSIFIED
Pre-mission Preparation
 Pre Deployment Spin Up (Home Station)
 Computer Based Training (CBTs)
 Self Aid Buddy Care (SABC)
 Chemical Warfare Defense Training (CWDT)
 Small Arms Re-Qualification (M-4, M-9)
 Air Advisor Training (Ft. Dix, New Jersey)
 Built in support structure of people you already know once you get into theatre
 2 Phases:
 “Air Advisor Training”
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30 Hours Arabic Language Training
Iraqi Culture Training
Arabic Negotiations
Interpreter Usage
The Art of Advising
 “Combat Skills Training”
 Combat Lifesaver Training and Certification
 Advanced Weapons Academics and Training
 High Threat Driving
 Rollover Prevention Training
 Land Navigation
 Radio Training
 High-Risk-Of-Capture Training
UNCLASSIFIED
My Personal Goals
 What I set out to do:
 Lose 50 Lbs
 Finish Air War College by Correspondence
 Have an Adventure
 What actually happened
 Lost 50 Lbs
 Finished Air War College by Correspondence
 Had an Adventure?
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20 Combat Sorties on Iraqi Aircraft
15 Combat Sorties on American Aircarft
Spent 50 Hours+ “Outside the Wire”
Shot 15 Different Kinds of Weapons (Iraqi/American/British)
Went to 12 Different Forward Operating Bases
Met Hundreds of Iraqis
Ate Tigris River Carp with my hands
Flew a Remote Control Helicopter in Saddam’s Palace
Met the Chief of Staff of the Iraqi Air Force
Renewed Faith in my Sister Services
Was called an “advising ninja” because I was “Comfortable Uncomfortable”
Made a Difference
I did my job in Iraq today, so that my boys would not have to go back to Iraq
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to finish my job in 20 years
UNCLASSIFIED
Getting There
 Unit Deployment Manager is Key
 Getting all of your “personal effects” in order
 Tried to re-finance the house while I was gone
 More support from your countrymen than you know how to handle
 USO Support
 Rotator into Theatre
 Al Udeid
 Intra-theatre travel
 Forward Operating Bases (FOBs)
 Living Accommodations
 Internet
 SKYPE!
 Green Bean
 DFACs
 Recreation Equipment
 Tours
 Cigar Club
 AFN
 Haji-Movies
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UNCLASSIFIED
The Mission - CC’s Top Ten Priorities
1. Comprehensive IqAF support to national elections
2. Airworthiness certification of the IqAF fleet
3. Transition of air base operations, security, infrastructure
and airspace control
4. IqAF advanced pilot training program
5. Development of IqAF ISR PED processes and utilization
6. IqAF Air Staff program and budget oversight, operational
standardization, and quality assurance
7. Joint integration
8. Preparing for incoming IqAF weapon systems
9. Unity of effort of Airmen partnering and mentoring
10.Developing & exercising new capabilities across
DOTMLPF
UNCLASSIFIED
Iraqi Air Operations Center
Iraqi Air Operations Center
Current Strength
•IqAF – (46) Officers, (1) Enlisted/Warrant Officer
•US Personnel: (14) Advisors, (2) Interpreters
Director, IAOC
•Name: Col Hamid Khudair
•Education:
•Iraq Naval Academy
•Leadership Academy
•Background:
•Army MI-8, Mi-17, Mi-24
•Navy Super Falcon
LOO
Current Capability
• C2 of ~250+ sorties/week
• Coordinate mission requests with
“customer,” MoD, and Squadrons
• Humble C2 Infrastructure
• Heavy reliance on Advisors for US
coordination and WX forecasting
• Immature clearance of fires
capability
• Mission tasking strictly dependent
on MoD personal involvement
Advise and assist IAOC in:
Command and Control
- Iraqi Master ATO / Air Operations Order
IAOC Vision
Provide effective C2 of IqAF air
operations across the spectrum of
- Skytrax (COTS Acft tracking via internet)
capabilities to ensure Iraq’s
Election
Capability Development
continued national sovereignty.
- Lethal Capabilities (Hellfire, DAGR)
Develop a WX forecasting center
- Air-Ground Integration / Clearance of Fires
with effective observation
- ISR Production, Exploitation, Dissemination
/forecasting ability.
- WX Forecasting
External Effects
- USF-I, ICAA, ACCE Coordination
AOC Move to Hawk Base
UNCLASSIFIED
Air Tasking Cycle
JFC and Component
Coordination
JFACC Intent /COA
ROE / Apportionment
Recommendation and Decision
Combat Assessments
Alternative COA
OA
Combat Assessment
Target Development
JIPTL / JIPCL
TET Worksheets
1
6
2
Strategy
Ops
Assessment
TET
ISR
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Combat Ops
MAAP 3
ATO Production
Force Execution
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BDA
MISREP
ATO Production
ATO
ACO
SPINS
Weaponeering and
Allocation
MAAP Worksheets
MAAP Brief
SORTIE ALOT
UNCLASSIFIED
Puddy’s Hierarchy of Iraqi Air Force Needs
Strategic Level
Operational Level
Tactical Level
Necessary Tools
Basic Products
Basic Needs
Plan and
Integrate
Squadron Functions
Scheduling / Evaluating
Technical experts /
Experienced operators
Aircraft / Training flight hours /
Instructors / Qualified students with
long-term assignments
Weather / NOTAMS / Approach charts / Jeppesen /
ICAA products / IMATO / Mission papers
Electricity / Internet / Paper / Printers / Phones / Desks /
Chairs / Office equipment
UNCLASSIFIED
JAOIT Mission
JAOIT - Joint Air Operations Integration Team
 JAOIT Vision: Develop joint interoperability through airpower
integration
 JAOIT Mission: Integrate Iraq Air Force airpower capabilities with
regional ground, security, civil, SOF, and maritime forces—develop
joint Iraqi partnerships that facilitate enduring operational
capabilities
Accomplishing Mission
1. Assess region – Measure capabilities and needs
2. Develop network – Advisory, Iraqi, regional ops center
3. Execute – Connect dots, plan, train, operationalize
Challenges
1.
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4.
Infrastructure – Email, internet, phone service
Equipment procurement and distribution – radios, PGS
Connecting regional ops centers and IAOC
Weaning from U.S. dependency
UNCLASSIFIED
JAOIT As I See It
Biggest Advisory Bang for the Buck
 Getting Iraqi Ideas into Motion
 Using Iraqi Assets to Solve Problems
JAOIT Bridges the Iraqi Cultural
Divides
 US Leads the introductions and facilitates the meetings
 Iraqis lead the training and execution
JAOIT Should Be a Growth Industry
 Gets/Keeps the contacts needed throughout
country
 Allows integration at tactical and operational level
 ITAM-AF has more influence on strategic level with tactical
level buy-in
UNCLASSIFIED
Kirkuk Operations
 Kirkuk PJCC
 Built off Election Successes (STT)
 321 AEAG Decision to stay in USD-N to levy contacts in
AO
 Northern Oil Company
 ISR Overwatch Cross Ministry (MoO/MoI) and PRT
 In Response to Multiple Attacks
 12th Iraqi Army
 ISR training and support of real world ops
 LTG Barbero Directed in Support of BG Samir
 12th IA Spec Ops Training Ongoing (culminates 7 Jul
10)
UNCLASSIFIED
Considerations
Air-ground integration
 Can not be done ad-hoc
 Operationalize all regions
 Security, stability provided by Iraqi
forces
 Iraqis train, Iraqis learn
Enduring Ops at Locations
Serviced
Success criteria:
When Iraqis integrate without
JAOIT’s help
UNCLASSIFIED
JAOIT/Squadron 3 Advanced Mission Sensor Operator (MSO) Training – 25 April 2010
UNCLASSIFIED
321 AEAG/CC-JAOIT Visit to Northern Oil Company, 5 May 2010
UNCLASSIFIED
JAOIT/JTAC PJCC Training Exercise w/ IqAF Sq 3 – 13 May 10
UNCLASSIFIED
12th IA/Squadron 3/JAOIT Key Leader Engagement – 29 May 10
UNCLASSIFIED
12th IA/Squadron 3/JAOIT Air to Ground Integration Training, 3-8 June 2010
UNCLASSIFIED
JAOIT/Squadron 3/12th IA SOC Training and IqAF/IA KLE – 1 Jul 10
UNCLASSIFIED
JAOIT/Sq 3/12th Iraqi Army Special Operation Company Integration – 30 Jun 10 – 7 Jul 10
UNCLASSIFIED
The Iraqis
 They are not so different from you and I!
 They want security and stability in their country
 They want their kids to have it better than they did
 The Insh’Allah Attitude
 Napping
 They MUST be ordered by superiors before they do anything
 Initiative is not rewarded; it is usually punished
 They are very generous
 They are putting themselves out there for their country
 IEDs on the doorstep
 There are some who “get it”
 Like any problem, focus efforts on the “Centers of Gravity”
 Advising is an Art
 Relationships matter
 Must be “comfortable uncomfortable”
 Find out what motivates people
 Don’t mirror image
 The key is to get people to take your ideas and make them their own
 Lots of Chai, pool, and ping-pong
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UNCLASSIFIED
The Americans
 LEADERSHIP MATTERS!
 The only issues that I had with anything at any time was all directly attributable
to American leadership
 Courageous leadership a pre-req at ALL levels
 The Army gets “Ground Mission Accomplishment” much better than the Air Force
 You can NOT have a garrison mentality in combat
 Advising is a personality based trait (not AFSC based)
 You MUST be “comfortable uncomfortable”
 Not every situation is written down
 You must accept some risk, otherwise you will never accomplish the mission
 Uniform violations?
 Still need down time
 Just because you can work 18 hrs/day, doesn’t mean you should
 If you are working 18 hrs/day, you are overworked or inefficient – Which is it?
 Your boss can always ask more questions than you can answer
 Does NOT mean the mission is getting accomplished
 CC’s need to give appropriate guidance and intent and then BACK OFF!
 Nothing zaps morale like a micro-managing boss
 “What kind of training does the Army have?”
 Made some Awesome friends
 Highest compliment you can pay someone in the Profession of Arms – “I’d
follow you into combat”
 I met leaders that I would follow into combat…
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UNCLASSIFIED
Takeaways
 Being away from family sucks
 The more effort you put into planning and prep, the easier it will be
 The AF gives you training that is second to none
 Advising works in any situation
 Getting people to take your ideas and make them their own
 Much like leadership…
 There are going to be difficult bosses
 As one person, you can make a difference
 In co-workers, in the Iraqis, or in home-station
 Keep your eyes and ears open
 Sometimes opportunity knocks very softly
 Learn to be “comfortable uncomfortable”
 Lead courageously in everything you do
 Set goals and milestones for every step of the way
 Personally and professionally
 And Finally…
DON’T COUNT THE DAYS…
MAKE THE DAYS COUNT!
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321st
Air Expeditionary Wing
Iraq Training and Advisory
Mission - Air Force
(ITAM-AF)
Iraq Experience
Jan-Aug ‘10
QUESTIONS?