Some 15 Air Force civil engineers comprise a public works team supporting Army units at three different locations in Iraq. They technically are part of Det. 16, 732nd Expeditionary Civil Engineer Squadron at Balad AB, Iraq. Three of these airmen serve as the Power and Oil Infrastructure Team, currently working out of Kirkuk, where they assist Iraqis who run refineries and power plants and oversee some $32 million in construction projects in an area that is responsible for approximately 20 percent of Iraq’s oil production.
The Air Force is seeking funding to let its pilots fly a little more than 1.1 million hours in fiscal 2027, which would be the most in about four years. But even if Airmen actually do fly all 1.1 million hours, it would still be short of the 1.3 million…