Vance pilot takes command of flying training squadron in Iraq Published July 6, 2011 By Staff Report 321st Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs BAGHDAD -- A deployed lieutenant colonel from the 8th Flying Training Squadron at Vance AFB, Okla., assumed command of the 52nd Expeditionary Flying Training Squadron at Tikrit, Iraq, June 19. Lt. Col. Andrew Hamann assumed command of the 52nd EFTS from Lt. Col. Charles Stevens while Brig. Gen. Anthony Rock, 321st Air Expeditionary Wing commander, and Iraqi Training and Advisory Mission - Air director and leaders of the Iraqi air force looked on. "I'm proud to be a part of this mission for our friends and allies in the Iraqi air force," Hamann said. "Here in the 52nd, that partnership includes some of the best Air Force Airmen who are executing this mission." The mission of the 52nd EFTS is to advise and assist in building an Iraqi air force with foundational and enduring capabilities in flying training while establishing a continuing relationship between the United States and the Iraqi air force. The 52nd EFTS is the U.S Air Force's only expeditionary flying training squadron. "As the Iraq air force continues to grow and develop its 21st century capabilities, our partnerships will continue to expand as well," said Hamann. "The T-6 and the 52nd EFTS, in executing the pilot training mission here at (Contingency Operation Base) Speicher, is the foundation of what the Iraqi air force will grow into in the coming years and decades now. Ours is a very important mission," he said. The 52nd EFTS is a subordinate unit of the 321st AEW, which is the wing responsible for the Iraq Training Advisory Mission-Air. ITAM-Air trains, advises and assists the Iraqi air force develop into a professional and credible regional airpower partner, with the ability to maintain internal security and defend against external threats.