From AFNS:  About 450 U.S. and NATO forces are working to bring the 3,300 members and 48 aircraft of the Afghan army air corps up to par as part of a long-term effort to give the country a self-sufficient air force, the Air Force general leading the transition team said June 10.

"Our mission is to set the conditions for a professional, fully independent and operationally capable Afghan air force that is ready to meet the security requirements of Afghanistan today and tomorrow," Brig. Gen. Michael R. Boera, the commander of the NATO Training Mission Afghanistan’s Combined Air Power Transition Force, said during a "DoDLive" bloggers roundtable June 10.

General Boera oversees the development of aviation within the Afghan military and police forces, which includes mentoring, training and assisting aviation units. Afghanistan’s air forces consist of the national army air corps and an air interdiction unit, which teams with the Afghan national police and U.S. forces on counternarcotics. …

The air corps currently has 48 aircraft and almost 3,300 soldiers, including noncommissioned and commissioned officers.

They plan to grow to 146 aircraft and more than 8,000 airmen, General Boera said.

The Air Interdiction Unit has nine aircraft and 129 airmen, and plans to expand to 19 aircraft and 282 airmen, he said. (photo: Tech. Sgt. Cecilio M. Ricardo Jr./USAF)

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