[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 10 (Tuesday, January 26, 2010)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E90]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      BUILDING AN AFGHAN AIR FORCE

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. CLIFF STEARNS

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, January 26, 2010

  Mr. STEARNS. Mr. Speaker, during the last week in December, I had the 
opportunity to travel to Afghanistan and see firsthand the situation on 
the ground. It goes without saying that I was most impressed with the 
hard work and courage displayed by our troops who are stationed over 
there. I am always in awe of our men women in the Armed Forces. Their 
bravery and professionalism is something that all Americans should be 
proud of.
  One aspect of our mission there that does not receive much attention 
compared to other parts of the mission is the effort to build an Afghan 
air force. The work of the Combined Air Power Transition Force (CAPTF) 
Partnership and the Afghan National Army Air Corps (ANAAC) deserves to 
be commended. During our trip we had the opportunity to meet with and 
be briefed by CAPTF Commanding General, United States Air Force 
Brigadier General Michael Boera. General Boera and his people run an 
impressive operation.
  The Combined Air Power Transition Force has a mission to set the 
conditions for a professional, fully independent and operationally 
capable Afghan air force that meets the security requirements of 
Afghanistan today and tomorrow. Furthermore, the Afghan National Army 
Air Corps provides trained and ready airmen and soliders to execute 
critical tasks from the air in support of the Afghan National Army, and 
when directed by the Ministry of Defense, to support by air the civil 
authorities of Afghanistan at all levels.
  CAPTF air advisors have oversight responsibilities for both the 
Ministry of Defense Afghan National Army Air Corps and the Ministry of 
Interior aviation assets used for Counternarcotics and General Support. 
In short, their goal is to ensure that the Afghan people will be able 
to protect their own airspace.
  As an embedded partnership, CAPTF operates along four lines of 
operation to accomplish their mission. The first line of operation is 
build the Afghan Air Corps aircraft capacity. Second, CAPTF works to 
build Afghan airmen's capacity and capability. The third step is to 
build ANAAC's infrastructure to support their force, and fourth, to 
perform operations in the current counterinsurgency effort.
  Transcending all four of those lines of operation is CAPTF's effort 
for institutional development such as improving their command and 
control capability, improving their air base management capability, and 
building up their ``Air University'' educational capability so critical 
to the foundation to a professional force.
  The Afghan Air Corps currently has 46 aircraft and close to 3,000 
personnel building to about 150 aircraft and over 8,000 personnel by 
2016. Their mission sets include Presidential and other types of 
airlift, battlefield mobility, to include medical evacuation and 
casualty evacuation, and close air support.
  The primary airframes flown by the Air Corps are Mi-17 and Mi-35 
helicopters and C-27s, which is the first modern western aircraft 
introduced to the Afghans. CAPTF hopes to introduce additional aircraft 
into the Afghan inventory as they continue to grow in capability.
  The ANAAC's Air Corps headquarters is in Kabul and they currently 
have two Air Wings, one at Kabul and one at Kandahar. A third is being 
built at Shindand airfield out to the west that will also be the home 
of their Training Center where the CAPTF will partner with them 
initially to train their pilots.
  The Afghans also have Air Detachments at critical locations around 
the country to support the Afghan ground forces. It's important to 
note, the Afghan airmen are in the fight now even as we help them build 
capacity and capability. It's like flying the airplane while building 
it.
  Much work remains, but General Boera and all the hardworking people 
of the Combined Air Power Transition Force are certainly moving in the 
right direction. All Americans should be proud!

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