This article is from the source 'nytimes' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/10/us/2-afghan-trainees-at-georgia-air-base-are-missing.html

The article has changed 3 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 0 Version 1
2 Afghan Trainees at Georgia Air Base Are Missing 2 Afghan Trainees at Georgia Air Base Are Missing
(about 3 hours later)
Two men from Afghanistan who were in the United States for training at Moody Air Force Base in Georgia are missing, the base said. Two men from Afghanistan who were in the United States for training at Moody Air Force Base are missing, shortly before they were scheduled to graduate and return to their country, the base and an official said on Wednesday.
The base said on Wednesday that the two men, part of a training program in conjunction with the Afghan Air Force, did not report on Monday for their maintenance duties with the 81st Fighter Squadron. The two arrived in the United States more than a year ago and have been training at the air base, which is in Valdosta, since February, the base said. The base said the two men, part of a training program in conjunction with the Afghan Air Force, did not report on Monday for their maintenance duties with the 81st Fighter Squadron. The two arrived in the United States more than a year ago and have been at the air base, which is in Valdosta, Ga., since February, the base said. No identifying information was released.
It said federal agencies were searching for the men, who were screened before their arrival. It said the men were screened before their arrival and have been training alongside American counterparts. The missing men “do not pose any apparent threat,” the base said.
“The students have trained alongside American counterparts for the entirety of 2015 and do not pose any apparent threat,” it said. An Air Force spokesman, Lt. Col. Christopher P. Karns, said in a telephone interview that the last contact with the two students was on Friday, Dec. 4. They are allowed to go off-base on weekends, and it was assumed they did, he said.
After the men failed to report for duty on Monday, and they were not found in on-base living quarters, the search widened to include federal, state and local law enforcement agencies to ensure their “safe return,” he said.
In reply to a question, he said there were no reports of missing weapons “or anything of that nature.”
“In light of everything going on in the world today we want to make sure no one jumps to any unfair or misinformed conclusions,” he said.
Security concerns in the United States have risen recently in light of the San Bernardino shooting incident in California, in which the couple who carried out the attack was motivated by extremist views, and also as Muslim citizens are reporting a backlash.
Lt. Col. Karns did not release their ages or where they were from in Afghanistan. But he said one was an officer, and the other is enlisted with a rank equivalent to a senior Master sergeant in the Air Force.
The missing men were in a class of nine Afghan pilots and 12 other Afghan aircraft maintenance students who train in classrooms or on the flight line, Lt. Colonel Karns said. They were scheduled to graduate on December 18 and return to Afghanistan.
The class had about a year of English language training at the Defense Language Institute in San Antonio, Tx. before arriving at Moody, he said.
The program to train Afghan pilots and aircraft maintenance personnel started this year at the base, according to a local WALB News report in January.The program to train Afghan pilots and aircraft maintenance personnel started this year at the base, according to a local WALB News report in January.
About 30 Afghan pilots and 90 aircraft maintenance workers are scheduled to come to the base over the next four to six years to learn to fly and maintain A-29 Super Tucano planes.About 30 Afghan pilots and 90 aircraft maintenance workers are scheduled to come to the base over the next four to six years to learn to fly and maintain A-29 Super Tucano planes.
After their training, they are expected to return to Afghanistan in 2018 with 20 of the aircraft for the Afghan Air Force to use in counterinsurgency operations, a statement from the air base said in January.After their training, they are expected to return to Afghanistan in 2018 with 20 of the aircraft for the Afghan Air Force to use in counterinsurgency operations, a statement from the air base said in January.
While the reason behind the disappearance of the two men is not yet known, military officials have said that it is not uncommon for officers visiting from countries where life is hard to get a glimpse of American life and go absent without leave.
Seventeen Afghan soldiers walked away from training at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio between 2006 and 2010, officials said that year.