U.S. Ends Afghan Military Pilot Training Program | Aero-News Network
Aero-News Network
RSS icon RSS feed
podcast icon MP3 podcast
Subscribe Aero-News e-mail Newsletter Subscribe

Airborne Unlimited -- Most Recent Daily Episodes

Episode Date

Airborne-Monday

Airborne-Tuesday

Airborne-Wednesday Airborne-Thursday

Airborne-Friday

Airborne On YouTube

Airborne-Unlimited-06.02.25

Airborne-NextGen-06.03.25

AirborneUnlimited-06.04.25

Airborne-AffordableFlyers-06.05.25

AirborneUnlimited-06.06.25

Wed, May 08, 2019

U.S. Ends Afghan Military Pilot Training Program

Nearly Half Of The Trainees Have Gone AWOL

A program to train pilots for close air support attack roles in Afghanistan has been closed down after nearly half the trainees went AWOL, leaving enough pilots to graduate only one class after about 18 months of the program's existence.

The training was being conducted in Cessna AC-208 light attack combat aircraft in the U.S. According to a quarterly report from the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR), those students that did not go AWOL were pulled back to Afghanistan to complete their training: as a result, only one class graduated from the U.S.-based program. The second and third classes will continue and finish their training in Afghanistan.

TAAC-Air has a plan to continue the student training and is developing a contract solution to support the effort to train the initial group of AC-208 aircrew. TAAC-Air said the C-208 trainees continue to progress to a self-sustaining level of proficiency.

Fox news reports that the training was being conducted at Meacham Airport in Fort Worth, TX by the Train Advise Assist Command-Air (TAAC-Air). The instructors came from NATO's Resolute Support mission in Afghanistan.

It is not known where the trainees who went AWOL are now located, though Fox News reports that such incidents involving foreign military trainees is not uncommon. SIGAR reported in 2017 that almost half of the 320 foreign military personnel brought to the U.S. for training have walked away from their bases. Some seek asylum after being caught, according to the report.

(Image from file)

FMI: SIGAR report
Source report

Advertisement

More News

Citation Operators Get Another Flight Data Connection for QA

LinxUs System Adds Capabilities for Data-Driven Operators Textron Aviation announced another option for operators processing their post-flight data, adding interoperability with GE>[...]

ANN's Daily Aero-Linx (06.01.25)

Aero Linx: The de Havilland Moth Club Ltd The de Havilland Moth Club evolved from a belief that an association of owners and operators of Moth aeroplanes should be formed to create>[...]

NTSB Final Report: Bellanca 8GCBC

(Pilot) Inadvertently Applied Excessive Braking Action, And The Airplane Nosed Over Analysis: The pilot reported that, while landing at a remote, rough and uneven airstrip in a tai>[...]

Aero-News: Quote of the Day (06.01.25)

“MCADT is committed to rapidly integrating armed first-person view drones into the FMF, enhancing small-unit lethality and providing organic capabilities that warfighters cur>[...]

Classic Aero-TV: High-Speed Match-up - Venom and GE Rebirth A Legend

From 2017 (YouTube Edition): Major Engine Supplier Joins Forces With Small Aircraft Manufacturer… GE recently made an agreement with Venom Aircraft to supply engines for the>[...]

blog comments powered by Disqus



Advertisement

Advertisement

Podcasts

Advertisement

© 2007 - 2025 Web Development & Design by Pauli Systems, LC