NEW AL MUTHANA AIR BASE — The Iraqi Air Force reached another milestone Oct. 22 when an all-Iraqi flight crew took to the air in the King Air Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) aircraft for the first time in support of an Iraqi special operations forces training exercise.

The air crew, connected via radio link to the special operations forces on the ground, provided reconnaissance and over-watch surveillance for convoy operations as the special operations forces conducted their training.

The Iraqi Air Force also provides ISR support to the Iraqi Army, intelligence services, the directorate of border enforcement and the ministries of oil and electricity.

Mission sets for the Iraqi Air Force ISR include battlefield reconnaissance, urban security, support to ground forces' operations, surveillance of oil infrastructure for oil leaks and pirating, electrical infrastructure for damage and national border security.

Highlighting the importance of training and working with the special forces, Iraqi Air Force pilot and mission commander, Lt. Col. A.K., said "we have great, modern equipment. This is a good opportunity to test the new ISR capability. It's being used in the right way and will benefit the whole country."

Staff Sgt. Joshua Roden, a member of the Coalition Air Force Training Team, part of the Multi-National Security Transition Command - Iraq, trained the Iraqi crew on mission sensor operations and was there to witness the take-off of the first all-Iraqi ISR mission. The mission is important, he said, "to sustain capabilities of the Iraqi infrastructure," and to sustain the capabilities of the Iraqi Air Force as a credible Air Force.