Training sorties at the Iraqi Air Force’s primary rotary wing base are slowly improving, and the Iraqis are training with more advanced equipment and newer tactics, Air Force advisers told the Daily Report during a visit to Iraq in November. US Air Force Lt. Col. William Rowell, the director of operations for the 721st Air Expeditionary Advisory Squadron, notes that many of the Iraqi airmen at Camp Taji are experienced, and, in some cases, are reluctant to learn new tactics and techniques. That’s not the case for newer airmen being trained, for example, in crew positions that, under Saddam Hussein’s regime, did not exist (such as side-firing PK light machine gunners on the IqAF’s Mi-17 transport helicopters). Read more about the efforts to build Iraq’s rotary wing force in Rotary Operations, the Iraqi Way.
Seven F-22 Raptor pilots have recently been awarded one of the military’s highest decorations for their actions during operations in the Middle East. Six of the pilots were decorated with the Distinguished Flying Cross for their role in Operation Midnight Hammer, the June 2025 strikes against Iranian nuclear facilities.