Academic Mi-17 maintenance check

Afghan Air Force students work on class materials during an eleven week Mi-17 helicopter ‘Engine & Body’ maintenance course at Kabul, Afghanistan, International Airport Nov. 11, 2012. Afghan course instructors partnered with Mongolian Air Force mentors to conduct the class. The Afghan AF’s newest 16 Mi-17 helicopter technicians crossed a stage Dec. 20, 2012 at the airport. (Courtesy photo)

Joining the ranks of Mi-17 helicopter maintainers

Fellow Afghan Air Force members attend an Mi-17 helicopter ‘Engine & Body’ class graduation Dec. 20, 2012 at Kabul, Afghanistan, International Airport. Sixteen students graduated after successfully completing 250 hours of training on avionics, engine and aircraft body work. (U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Mekpongsatorn)

Sling loading in southern Afghanistan

Pathfinder students from 4th Kandak, 2nd Brigade, 205th Corps, prepare equipment to be attached to the bottom of an Afghan Air Force Kandahar Air Wing Mi-17 helicopter during the 4th Lightning Strike Pathfinder Academy, where the students were trained and certified as Pathfinders by Afghan instructors in partnership with Pathfinders of Company F, 2nd Battalion, 25th Aviation Regiment, 25th Combat Aviation Brigade, at Forward Operating Base Wolverine, Afghanistan, Dec. 5th. (Photo by Capt. Richard Barker, 25th Combat Aviation Brigade Public Affairs)

Talking through it

From left, Lt. Col. Scott Sill, an Afghan hand and senior mentor with Security Forces Assistance Team 11, Maj. Asmatulla Safi, an operations officer with 3rd Zone Afghan Border Police, Lt. Col. Ekland Dauti, commander of Contingent Eagle Five of the Albanian Special Operations Force, conduct a village shura with Afghan Border Police members and villagers of Mawlazay during Operation Southern Strike IV, Kandahar province, Afghanistan, Nov. 17, 2012. (U.S. Army Photo/Staff Sgt. Ryan Sheldon)

Special delivery

Maj. Asmatulla Safi (right), an operations officer with 3rd Zone Afghan Border Police poses with a village elder in Mawlazay, Afghanistan, during Operation Southern Strike IV, Nov. 17, 2012. More than 4,400 pounds of flour, rice, blankets and clothing were delivered to remote villages in Spin Boldak and Tak-the Pol Districts by Afghan Air Force Kandahar Air Wing Mi-17 helicopter crew members and the Afghan Border Police. (U.S. Army Photo/Staff Sgt. Ryan Sheldon)

Distribution

Lt. Abdul Azim Nooree (right), an officer with the Afghan Border Police, assists handing out humanitarian aid in the village of Gagre Naw, Afghanistan, during Operation Southern Strike IV, Nov. 18, 2012. (U.S. Army Photo/Staff Sgt. Ryan Sheldon)