American Airman teaches Iraqi air force cadets

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American Airman teaches Iraqi air force cadets
English is very useful for everyone because it's
an international language. Wherever you go, you
can always find someone who can speak English.
-- IAF Cadet Ali Talib
RUSTAMIYAH, Iraq -- Teaching leadership in a
foreign land was never part of his career plan,
but that's exactly what Capt. Tom Fiordelisi has
been doing for the last 12 months at a forward
operating base near Baghdad. Captain
Fiordelisi served as commandant of cadets for
ROTC Det. 630 at Kent State University in Ohio
before deploying to Iraq where he
taught leadership to college sophomores.
While in Iraq, the captain taught English,
airpower, followership and leadership to Iraqi
air force cadets at the Iraqi military academy.
The native of Seymour, Conn., discovered that
young Iraqi students are not much different from
their American counterparts. The
leadership course he teaches is part of a
grassroots training program that prepares cadets
for careers in the Iraqi air force officer corps.
Like other 20 year olds, you give them a
challenge, make that challenge reasonable and
attainable as a goal, and they'll step up to the
challenge, he said. To fill the void
faster and effectively, the Iraqi cadets spend a
good portion of the year-long course focusing on
English language training. After the cadets
successfully
Iraqi cadets work on a lesson during their
English language course at the Iraqi air force
training wing at Forward Operating Base
Rustamiyah, Iraq. A cadet that earns a 70 percent
or higher can enter undergraduate pilot training.
complete the English language course, they move
on to officer-specific training including
instruction in leadership and followership. From
there, Iraqi cadets get commissioned and enter
career-specific training.