NEW AL-MUTHANA AIR BASE, Iraq - More than 160 Iraqi airmen graduated from a two-week long enlisted professional development course taught by U.S. Air Force advisors, here May 28. 

The students, who learned skills designed to make them more effective leaders, supervisors and managers, were praised by their American advisors as well as the Iraq Training and Advisory Mission-Air director, Brig. Gen. Anthony Rock, and the New Al-Muthana Air Base commander for their achievement in the face of tragic circumstances. 

"This graduation is a tremendous milestone for the Iraqi air force and it celebrates the partnership between Iraq and the United States," said Rock, who spoke on behalf of ITAM-Air advisors. "It also celebrates the importance of education. We should always aim to learn as much as we possibly can because education is like a jewel - it's priceless." 

In the last month, more than a dozen ITAM-Air and 321st Air Expeditionary Wing airmen have worked alongside their Iraqi enlisted counterparts at NAMAB sharing experiences and practical applications of professional military education. 

"We talked to them about leadership and discipline, taking pride in their uniform and the importance of being an ambassador in the community," explained Master Sgt. Rickie Frost, 321st Expeditionary Mission Support Advisory Group logistics advisor deployed from Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash. 

"We told them as military members, we are always held to a higher standard, on- and off-duty," said the Morgan, Ga., native.

The training course suffered a tragic setback during its first week when the base's vice commander, who had pushed for the training and other quality of life improvements for his airmen, was assassinated in the suburbs of Baghdad April 28.

"Gen. Mohamed was instrumental in helping us set up this course for his enlisted airmen," explained Master Sgt. Brian Carter, ITAM-Air's medical advisor at NAMAB who helped set up the course. "He would have wanted us to see the course through to the end. We couldn't let it fail after that terrible day."

After two weeks respite, the course resumed. The American advisors talked to their enlisted partners about the Iraqi air force's core values - learning English, integrity, military discipline, and on a more personal level, loyalty to country. 

"We discussed all those things, but the most important thing that we did was learn about each other," said Carter, who is deployed from Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, N.C. "We, as service members, understand the great risk Iraqis take by serving in their country's military. They take far greater risks coming to work in uniform than we do back home in the United States. Many of these guys have to serve anonymously due to the risks to their life and family. They can't even tell their friends and neighbors what they do."

Looking ahead, ITAM-Air advisors are eager to set up another course that focuses more exclusively on English, which is the international aviation language. 

"The next course will focus on English language, which is crucial for their training and development in the aviation field," said Carter, a Wilson, N.C., native. "We want [the Iraqis] to take the lead on planning and preparing the next course. We'd like to see them take this on as their own."

The PME course is the second of its kind for ITAM-Air advisors here in Baghdad. ITAM-Air is comprised of more than 1,000 U.S. Air Force airmen deployed to seven major locations throughout Iraq. The organization advises, trains and assists Iraqi air force and army aviation command service members as U.S. forces transition out of the country.