Military working to establish air corps

KABUL, Afghanistan, Sept. 26 (UPI) -- The U.S. military is working to stand up an independent air corps unit to provide the Afghan National Army with its own air support.

Air Force Maj. Gen. Jay Lindell, commander of Combined Air Transition Force, Combined Security Transition Command, is leading an effort to develop a National Army Air Corps in Afghanistan to support evacuations and battlefield support among operations for the Afghan National Army, the U.S. Air Force reported.

Officials say only the top 20 percent of Afghan graduates of the Kabul Military Training Center are selected for the new air corps. Additionally, while most of the Afghan graduates have no formal education, they still must have passed an equivalent of eighth grade and pass a flight aptitude exam and a board selection process to be part of the unit.

Out of 105 pilot candidates, only 48 will be sent to the United States for specialized training.

"Our goal is to develop this air corps to be fully independent and fully operational, capable to meet (the) security requirements of Afghanistan," Lindell said in a statement.

The National Army Air Corps currently has only 27 aircraft. However, officials say they are working on getting as many as 125 to establish the unit.