*85 students from Qatar, Kuwait and Rwanda graduate
*Graduates included 71 pilots and 14 from support specialties
*College offers new specialisations such as air traffic control, air supply and airport management
His Highness the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani patronised the graduation ceremony of the 8th batch of students of Al Zaeem (Leader) Mohamed Bin Abdullah Al Attiyah Air College at Al Udeid Air Base Wednesday.
The ceremony was attended by HE the Prime Minister and Minister of Interior Sheikh Khalid bin Khalifa bin Abdulaziz al-Thani, a number of ministers, the Deputy Commander of US Air Forces Central Command Major General Michael Koscheski, Operations and Training Assistant in Kuwait Major General Faleh Shujaa, Commander of the College of Aviation Sciences in Sudan Major General (Pilot) Youssef Ahmed Taha, Commander of the Rwanda Military Academy Major General Danny Gatsinzi, Commander of King Hussein Air College in Jordan Brigadier General (Pilot) Khalid Mohamed al-Faour, and a number of leaders of colleges, institutes and security and military academies from brotherly and friendly countries.
The ceremony was also attended by senior officers of the Ministry of Defence, the Ministry of Interior, the Amiri Guard and the State Security Bureau, in addition to heads of diplomatic missions in the country and the parents of the graduates.
After the recitation of verses from the Holy Qur'an, followed by the national anthem His Highness the Amir reviewed the parade of the 85 graduates from Qatar, Kuwait and Rwanda. The Amir then honoured the first 10 outstanding graduates, which included pilots and support majors. This was followed by the 8th batch handing over the flag to the 9th batch and the order for promotion was then read out and the parade concluded.
The air show began with a number of aircraft of the Qatari Amiri Air Force, such as Rafale, Mirage, C-130 and C-17 transport aircraft and Agusta 139 helicopters. Al Zaeem College's aircraft also took part in the show using PC-21, Super Mushshak and the H 125 helicopters.
At the end of the ceremony, the officers of the 8th batch took the oath and performed the national anthem.
In a speech on the occasion, the Acting Commander of Al Zaeem Air College Brigadier Pilot Abdullah Mubarak al-Mohannadi said the 8th batch of students spent three years of theoretical and practical training using the latest technology and successfully completed the requirements for obtaining a Bachelor's degree in aeronautics.
The graduates included 71 pilots and 14 from support specialties. Among the graduates 10 are from Kuwait and two from Rwanda.
The celebration this year came under exceptional circumstances as a result of the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, al-Mohannadi said, noting that these circumstances did not discourage the college from moving forward with the implementation of expansion, development and modernisation plans in the field of pilot training and support specialties in accordance with the best international standards.
The college has developed new specialisations such as air traffic control, air supply officer and airport management specialisation, in order to provide the air force with more professional national cadres capable of dealing with the most complex systems with high efficiency, he said.
Al-Mohannadi congratulated the graduates and pointed out that the college provided all the capabilities over the years of study to qualify the students and refine their military and academic personalities and consolidate their lofty values so that they would be role models in all service and duty positions.
