First Iraqi ALP student graduates Published July 24, 2009 By Senior Airman Jacob Corbin 14th Flying Training Wing Public Affairs COLUMBUS AIR FORCE BASE, Miss. -- Three years ago a young soon-to-be pilot began his journey to earning his Silver Wings. Second Lieutenant Omar AlNuaimi, Iraqi air force, graduated July 24 alongside his fellow student pilots in Specialized Undergraduate Pilot Training Class 09-12 at the Kaye Auditorium. "It feels great (to graduate)," Lieutenant AlNuaimi said. "Since the Iraqi air force was founded, until this moment, we haven't had students who have graduated from the U.S. It's been great and wonderful to be trained and get my wings." The lieutenant said he was shown great respect and understanding during his training, and in turn, so was his country. "This is one step forward for breaking a huge wall between our two nations," he said. While he's happy to graduate, he said he would never have gotten this far without the support and help of others along the way. He credits the men and women he has encountered and who have helped him in his journey from a young man raised to hate the western world (and the U.S. especially) to someone who would fight alongside its members and die for it. This includes the man he said he considers a father figure, Lt. Col. Eddie Altizer, 43rd Flying Training Squadron T-6 flight commander. "He is the greatest guy I have ever known," Lieutenant AlNuaimi said. "He is like a father to me; he really represents his country in the greatest way possible." Lieutenant AlNuaimi will be taking the new skills and techniques he's learned here in the United States and using them to help train the next generation of Iraqi airmen in Kirkuk, Iraq, and said the lessons and experience passed on to him by his instructor pilots here will be invaluable. "I have gained good experience, and I will be glad to take all this experience back to my country and teach," he said. He said the instructor pilots do more than just their job here; they have a second as an English teacher, too. "They help bridge the gap, find similar words to help you understand," he said. He explained most aeronautical terms are not found in English language translation dictionaries. The lieutenant said the men and women who have helped him from day one have all taught him something valuable or made his journey possible, whether it be his English instructors at Lackland Air Force Base, the instructor pilots who taught him daily, crew chiefs who maintained the aircraft he flew or his "brothers" in pilot training alongside him. In addition, the lieutenant said the men and women, students and spouses, of his flights and classes were there for him any minute of the day, anytime he needed help. That, coupled with the warm-welcome given to him by members of the local community, are what he said made his time here easy and pleasant. He said when he met people, and told them he was from Columbus AFB, they accepted him with open arms. "They treat us so very well and welcome us," he said. The U.S. Air Force Aviation Leadership Program is a scholarship for undergraduate flying training. The scholarship also includes English language training for countries not exempt from English testing. English language training is provided at the Defense Language Institute, Lackland AFD, Texas, with follow-on aviation training hosted by the 14th Flying Training Wing at Columbus AFB.