First Afghan Helicopter Pilots complete US Training

Afghan air force 1st Lt. Abdul Saboor Amin and 1st Lt. Ahmad Fawad Haidari have returned to Kabul, Afghanistan, to begin Mi-17 helicopter pilot training after successfully completing 16 months of language and pilot training in the United States. They are the first two AAF helicopter pilots to finish the entire US pilot training course. In fact, they were the only two of 62 candidates to overcome the English-language requirements and other challenges to complete the course. Amin and Haidari began their training with six months of language instruction in San Antonio, followed by pilot training at Ft. Rucker, Ala. Now back in Kabul, they will undergo six to eight months of Mi-17 conversion training developed by US and Croatian advisors of the 438th Air Expeditionary Wing. Eventually, they will become instructor pilots. (Kabul report by Vladimir Potapenko)