VSE-Westar Team To Train New Iraqi Air Force Pilots

Washington, WA - The team of VSE Corporation of Arlington, Va., and Westar Aerospace & Defense Group, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of QinetiQ North America, has been awarded a three-year, $62M CECOM Rapid Response Task Order from the U.S. Army Security Assistance Management Organization. The Task Order is in direct support of the Coalition Air Force Transition Team's mission to establish a Flight Training School in support of the new Iraqi Air Force.

VSE is the CECOM (Communications Electronic Command) task leader. Westar is the primary subcontractor and will serve as the team's lead performer, training selected members of the Iraqi Armed Forces on both fixed-wing and rotary-wing aircraft.

"The VSE-Westar Team possesses the knowledge, experience and leadership necessary for the successful execution of this task. Our personnel have been in Iraq and Afghanistan, have commanded aviation units, and are experienced aviators of military aircraft," said Westar Executive Vice President & COO Randall Tieszen, a retired Master Aviator and Army Aviation Brigadier General.

The VSE-Westar Team will be led by Westar Flight Commander Guy Rogers, a retired Army Colonel with more than 30 years of aviation management and training experience.

Fixed-wing training will include classroom academic instruction and flight simulator training, as well as potential undergraduate-level flight training in Cessna aircraft.

Rotary-wing training will include classroom academic instruction, flight simulator training, and flight training in Jet Ranger, Huey II and Mi-17 (Russian) helicopters.

The goal of the program, which began Nov. 9, 2007, is to train to U.S. Army/U.S. Air Force standards, 50 students per year in rotary-wing and 50 students per year in fixed-wing aircraft.

SOURCE: VSE Corporation