After returning to Homeland following flight training, he became a pilot on the Northrop F-5 fighter aircraft. After returning to Homeland he married his cousin Maliheh and moved to Dezful in Khuzestan Province where he resided in the Iranian Air Force residence. He had three children, a daughter, Salma, and two sons, Hossein and Mohammad.
He became the commander of the 8th Tactical Air Base in 1981. Aviation journalist and Iran-Iraq air war expert Tom Cooper reports that Babaei was “notorious for his merciless treatment of the pilots and officers” considered disloyal to the new regime. Cooper’s research indicates:… Col.
