An Afghan air force airman receives a certificate for graduating from the Mi-17 helicopter engine and body maintenance course Jan. 1, 2011, at the Afghan Air Force Base in Kabul, Afghanistan. The graduates became the first airmen to complete the course. (U.S. Navy photo/Petty Officer 2nd Class Vladimir Potapenko) Afghan air force airmen first to graduate Mi-17 maintenance course by Petty Officer 2nd Class Vladimir Potapenko 438th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs 1/4/2011 - KABUL, Afghanistan (AFNS) -- Ten Afghan air force Airmen graduated from the Mi-17 helicopter engine and body maintenance course Jan. 1 here, marking the first time AAF members completed the training. The graduating Airmen, both officers and enlisted, completed the course, none of the in the instructors in the Mongolian-led course speak Dari or Pashto, and none of the AAF airmen speak Mongolian. "It was hard but rewarding, and eventually we were successful in learning the material," said Afghan air force Lt. Nabiullah Ahmadi. To circumvent the dilemma, students and instructors found a middle ground built upon a foreign influence: Russian. Three of the students had learned Russian during the Soviet Union's occupation of Afghanistan and were able to act as translators for the Soviet-influenced Mongols. Yet regardless of the language, it was determination and the will to learn that bridged the gap between students and instructors, Mongolian air force Maj. Dashdorj Tuvshinsaikhan, one of the course instructors. "They worked very hard," Major Tuvshinsaikhan said. "They put in maximum effort and truly demonstrated the want to learn, which ultimately helped transform these Airmen from Mig-21 maintainers to Mi-17 maintainers." Split into separate, one-month units consisting of classroom-based familiarization and practical, hands-on application, the course, totaling more than 200 hours of instruction, gives students more than just a working knowledge of the Mi-17 engine and body, Major Tuvshinsaikhan said. "I am proud to be a professional now," Lieutenant Ahmadi said. Next, the graduates wait for orders and distribution throughout the AAF strongholds of Kabul, Kandahar, Shindand, Herat and Jalalabad. However, regardless of where they go, the newly trained airmen are entrusted with an important task, said Lt. Col. Joseph Giuliani, the rotary wing maintenance commander for the 440th Air Expeditionary Advisory Squadron, as he addressed the graduates as a guest speaker.  "The Mi-17 is the centerpiece of the Afghan air force, and the AAF is going to have the Mi-17 for the next 25 years," he said. "So, take this knowledge, build upon it and share it with those that come behind you."