Iraq, Iraqi Air Forceالعراق, القوة الجوية العراقية

iraqi mig 29

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• Iraqi Air Forceالعراق

[214MLI]

In Kurkuk? When I was there in '03 I thought there was a Mig 21 sitting by one of the chow halls by the hangars, Your probably right it may very well have been an SU-20, I'm not an aircraft expert, just an Infantry Soldier :) Now that I look at a picture of an SU 20 and a picture I took of the aircraft in Kurkuk I believe you are correct. Thank you for pointing that out.

[AKKMAE70]

Its not mig 21, its Su 20 near the tower.

[babaveonglu]

wow, so you where everywhere. Do you maybe know where other old iraqi army stuff is? I will visit iraq this year and I want to see such things.

[214MLI]

Well I've been to Irbil, Mosul, Kurkuk, Balad, Baghdad, Abu Ghraib, Fallujah, Sadr City, Al Hillah, and Al Basrah. I could tell you the names of the bases but I'm sure they have changed, and some I know are no longer there or have been transfered to the Iraqi Army. Like I said though all in all it was a very nice country and I enjoyed my time there. Actually when I got to Kurkuk Air Base there was even some Mig-21's of the Iraqi Air Force sitting on the tarmac, although most had been damaged.

[babaveonglu]

Very interesting, youre everytime welcome in Iraq, if youre not coming as an enemy, even with honorable motives. I don't want to swift to politics, because you are a very nice person and an soldier who just follows orders.

At which base in iraq were you send?

[214MLI]

During Desert Storm I was 10. I have however spent 3 years in Iraq during this current conflict as an Army soldier. It is a very nice country full of wonderful people and I have many Iraqi Army and Kurdish Peshmerga friends to this day. The insurgency is unfortunate to say the least and I can't wait until the Iraqi people can return to their normal (however much improved) lives. It would be very nice if some day the conditions improved so that it would be safe for me to go back and visit them.

[babaveonglu]

Thanks for your kind reply, its a pleasure to talk with you. Where were you during the Dstorm?

[214MLI]

My point was that despite their best efforts the coalition made light work of the Iraqi military resulting in massive casualties as well as the mass surrendering of units. Mainly this was due to advanced technology and just plain overwhelming them. I've talked with many people who during the first war were "guests" of my military until the conclusion of hostilities and many tell me that the average soldier simply did not have the equipment to pose a proper resistance to the invading forces.

[214MLI]

Agreed. The "we" in my first comment was directed towards all coalition militaries involved. I was aware that Iraq and Iran had made a previous agreement, however was under the impression that Iran never and has yet to return the aircraft. My original comment was intended to mean that Iraq did have a very powerful and well trained air force which was the best we'd faced in decades, yet Iraq's military was decisively defeated. I have great respect for the soldiers that stand in front of me.

[babaveonglu]

I respect your opinion too, its just your first comment that confused me and there are too many people who forget every fact when they talk about iraqs former military. Especially coallition servicemember should know why the iraqis failed and have some respect for their history. By the way, they evacuated the planes to iran and not escaped, there was an agreement between iran and iraq. In this war Saddam gave the order to use the Airforce minimally, only as a potential threat.