June 26, 2015
Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator John McCain (R-AZ), Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, today released the following statement on the death of Brigadier General Rafid Mohammed Hassan, an Iraqi student pilot whose F-16 fighter crashed near Douglas, Arizona during a training mission with the Arizona Air National Guard’s 162nd Wing:
“I extend my deepest condolences to the family of Brigadier General Rasid Mohammed Hassan and all those impacted by this tragedy. As one of the many brave pilots training to fight the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) with the Arizona Air National Guard's 162nd Wing in Tucson, Brig. Gen. Hassan will be remembered by his commitment to the defense of Iraq and its people.”
Brig. Gen. Hassan was enrolled with the Arizona Air National Guard 162nd Wing’s international F-16 fighter pilot training program based at Tucson International Airport, which includes students from Iraq, Singapore, Poland, Norway, Denmark, Oman, Belgium, and the Netherlands.