Iraqi AMOC graduate dies in suspected attack

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Jacob Corbin
  • 82nd Training Wing Public Affairs
SHEPPARD AIR FORCE BASE, Texas --  Iraqi Air Force Col. Ahmed A. Al Amran left Sheppard on Dec. 15 with the dream of making a war-torn Iraq a better place...to make his increasingly dangerous neighborhood in Baghdad a safe haven where children could run and play in the streets.

That dream was cut short Jan. 28 when he was killed in a suspected terrorist attack while he sat in his car in preparation for that days work at the Aircraft Engineering Directorate of the Iraqi Air Force. He is survived by a wife and two children.

Colonel Ahmed graduated from Sheppard's Aircraft Maintenance Officer's Course on Dec. 15. After completing the 68 training-day course he continued on to Little Rock Air Force Base, Ark., for C-130 familiarization training. Upon returning to Iraq he served as the chief of information, surveillance and reconnaissance aircraft division at the Aircraft Engineering Directorate of the IAF.

The colonel faced a great deal of danger both to him and his family by attending training in the United States, but he was committed to helping restore Iraq, said Lt. Col. Laurel Smyth, an advisor to the IAF and co-worker of Colonel Ahmed.

"He had a vision to restore the IAF aircraft maintenance corps to a strong, capable and professional force," Colonel Smyth said.

While at Sheppard he learned the U.S. Air Force way of aircraft maintenance, which included learning about general maintenance and terms, aircraft systems, munitions, logistics, maintenance operations and flight line operations.

"We teach them (AMOC students) to manage the health of the aircraft fleet," said Rodney Townsend, instructor supervisor with AMOC. "We also teach them what the people that work for them actually do."

According to his instructors, the colonel's goal was to learn all he could to take back to his country's growing air force.

"He wanted to take all the skills and knowledge back with him to help set up an Iraqi maintenance organization," said Dale Traeger, an instructor with AMOC.

In fact, Capt. Leonard Shores, Colonel Ahmed's AMOC class advisor, said that he was already working for his airmen in Iraq to attend AMOC themselves.

His block four and five instructor, Capt. Kara Gittes, said he was excited to take back the knowledge, especially what he learned in block five. That portion of the training covers the U.S. Air Force's logistics program and supply chain, which the IAF is currently modeling their own air force after.

"If his program was going to be based on it, he wanted to know how it worked," Captain Gittes said.

Colonel Ahmed may have been a foreign officer attending a U.S. Air Force course but his instructors said that he was a natural leader who was well respected.

"When the colonel spoke, everyone just got quiet and listened," said Capt. Lorelei Gomez, an instructor with AMOC. "He never had to ask for respect, he was just given it because of how he was. He taught the lieutenants in the class a lot about leadership."

"He could make an effortless transition from student to officer," said Tech Sgt. Mark Fallin, an AMOC instructor. "He knew when to be a classmate and when to be a colonel."

The colonel's instructors at AMOC remember not only his studious nature and natural leadership, but also his humor and a strong desire to show people that Iraqis are more than television makes them out to be.

"He was very candid. He always had a smile on his face and a great attitude towards life," Captain Gomez said.

"He wanted to show people the beautiful parts of his country instead of what's in the media," Sergeant Fallin said. "The largest driving force in his life was bettering his people."

His AMOC instructors are bursting with stories told to them by Colonel Ahmed and memories of his time at Sheppard. They continuously stressed his desire for a peaceful and secure Iraq.

Colonel Ahmed told one such story to Mr. Traeger.

"During the initial push by the allies into Iraq he was teaching IAF members. His superiors had said for him and his students to gather arms as a show of force against the U.S.," Mr. Traeger said. "He refused to do so and instead sent his students home to their families. He only returned to the IAF after the allies had gained control and the new Iraqi government called upon him."

Stories such as those serve to illustrate the character of Colonel Ahmed, who is seen by many, including Brig. Gen. Richard Devereaux, 82nd Training Wing commander, as a true Iraqi patriot.

"Col. Ahmed Al Amran was not just a friend to many people at Sheppard," General Devereaux said. "He was a true patriot, a patriot for the Iraqi people. As a member of the Iraqi Air Force, he hoped and dreamed for a secure homeland and ultimately gave his life for his country. His sacrifice is an inspiration to us as we work hard to help train and equip the Iraqi Air Force."

The death of Colonel Ahmed is a loss to those who knew him and to the growing IAF.

"Airman like Colonel Ahmed are working hard to restore the IAF and bring peace and stability to their country," Colonel Smyth said. "Colonel Ahmed will be sorely missed by his Iraqi comrades as well as the U.S. Air Force men and women he worked with."