Iraq Reconstituting Its Airforce -- U.S. Servicemen Will Probably Be In Iraq Till 2020

Lt. Gen. Kamal Barzanji, from left, head of the Iraqi air force, U.S. Brig. Gen. Brooks Bash and Abdel Karim Aziz, head of the Iraqi Air Force Training School, attend a graduation ceremony at the school in Taji, on the outskirts of Baghdad, on Aug. 11. A class of 283 warrant officers graduated from basic military training in the Iraqi air force.

Iraq's Air Force Taking To The Skies Again -- LA Times

Grounded at the start of the 2003 U.S.-led invasion, the once-powerful force is being nurtured back into existence with the help of American trainers.

KIRKUK, IRAQ -- When Abu Mohammed walks down the flight line at a base outside this northern Iraqi city, there's a swagger in his stride. Engineers too young to remember Iraq's storied dogfights against Iran rush up to shake his hand.

For years, the pilot lived in hiding as a taxi driver. It feels good to take the controls of a plane again, he says. But the single-engine, turboprop aircraft in which he putters around in the sky are nothing like the fighter jets he commanded during the 1980s war with Iran.

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My Comment: The key quote in the article is the following:

U.S. and Iraqi officers have devised a plan to build a self-sufficient air force with 350 aircraft and 20,000 personnel by 2020, but doing so will require the Iraqi government to spend about $2 billion a year.

This is how long American servicemen are probably going to stay in Iraq .... the year 2020.