Army paratroopers from the 20th Engineering Brigade, 101st Airborne Division, Fort Campbell, Ky., clip onto a static line inside a C-17 Gloemeater III aircraft for an air drop into Cairo, Egypt, Nov. 10 as part of Exercise Bright Star 2007. The C-17 is from Charleston Air Force Base, S.C. (U.S Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Aaron Allmon)
U.S. Army paratroopers from the 20th Engineering Brigade, 101st Airborne Division, Fort Campbell, Ky., and Egyptian paratroopers prepare their chutes aboard a Charleston Air Force Base, S.C., C-17 Globemaster III aircraft for an air drop into Cairo, Egypt, Nov. 7 as part of exercise Bright Star 2007. (U.S Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Aaron Allmon)
A U.S. Army paratrooper from Fort Bragg, N.C., jumps from a C-130 Hercules during Operation Toy Drop. Paratroopers participate in the annual operation by donating a toy in exchange for a chance to make a non-tactical parachute jump from a 43rd Airlift Wing C-130 from Pope Air Force Base, N.C. (U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman Clay Lancaster)
FORT WORTH, Texas (Dec. 18, 2007) Gen. James Conway, Commandant U.S. Marine Corps spoke during Lockheed Martin's unveiling ceremony of the first STOVL F-35 Lightning II aircraft. The F-35B will replace the aging AV-8 Harriers, and will be operational with the U.S. Marines in 2012. U.S. Navy photo (Released)
CAMP TAJI, Iraq - Spc. Charles Ballato (left) and Spc. Christopher Kell, crew chiefs in Tomahawk Troop, 4th Squadron, 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment, salute an AH-64D Apache crew as they prepare to take off on a mission. Unlike other Army aircraft, Apaches are only designed to carry its two pilots but, like other helicopters, can't fly without the hard work of its crew chiefs.
U.S. Army soldiers make final preparations to a M777 155mm Howitzer before conducting a fire mission at Camp Taji, Iraq, Jan. 2, 2008. The soldiers are assigned to the 25th Infantry Division's Battery B, 2nd Battalion, 11th Field Artillery Regiment, which is the first Army unit to be issued and fire the M777 lightweight howitzer in Iraq. U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. William Greer
An AH-64 Apache attack helicopter hovers before takeoff from Balad Air Base, Iraq, Jan. 3, 2008. A 30-mm automatic Boeing M230 chain gun is located under the fuselage, which provides a rate of fire of 625 rounds per minute. U.S. Air Force photoby Master Sgt. John Nimmo, Sr.
A US soldier steps in his armored vehicle to man a machine gun as he prepares to leave the base for a mission in Baghdad, 06 January 2008. A US soldier has been killed by a roadside bomb in Iraq's restive Diyala province, the US military announced on 06 January, as his death brings the total number of American soldiers killed since the 2003 US-led invasion to 3,908, according to an independent website.
A Soldier from 2nd Battalion, 32nd Field Artillery, attached to 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) provides security during a briefing for doctors at the hospital in Yarmouk, Iraq, Dec. 30. (U.S.Army photo by Spc. Charles W. Gill) (Released)
Fort Myers, Fla., native, 1st Lt. Justin Anderson, serving as an operations officer with the 4th Battalion, 64th Armored Regiment's Headquarters Company, lets Lasol Ahmed try on his headset while on a mission in southern Baghdad's Rashid District, Dec. 31. The "Tuskers" of 4-64 Armored, deployed out of Fort Stewart, Ga., are currently attached to the 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division.
Members of the Arkansas National Guard 39th Infantry Brigade departed Little Rock, Ark., Saturday, Jan. 5, 2008 for a month of training before returning to Iraq for a second tour say their last good byes before deploying to Iraq.
U.S. Marines with 3rd Platoon, Delta Company, 1st Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, 1st Marine Division conduct military operations in urban terrain (MOUT) training during their predeployment training with the High Desert Special Operations Center in Hawthorne, Nev. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Shawn M. Statz)
Senior Airmen Alejandro DeLaFuente (front) and Anthony Leonard (back) inspect the perimeter for enemy forces in a simulated attack on the wng operations center during the peninsula wide operational readiness exercise Jan. 17 at Kunsan Air Base, South Korea. The exercise is conducted to ensure members remain mission ready at all times. Both are members of the 8th Security Forces Squadron. (U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman Steven R. Doty)
The F-22 Raptor is unveiled at its exhibit opening ceremony at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force Jan. 18 at Dayton, Ohio. (U.S. Air Force photo)
An F-16 Fighting Falcon lands at Kunsan Air Base, South Korea, after a Jan. 18 flight from Eielson Air Base, Alaska. The 80th Fighter Squadron will be receiving 18 Common Configuration Implementation Program Block 40 jets from the Alaskan-based unit and Eielson AFB will in-turn receive the 80th FS Block 30 jets for an aggressor squadron. (U.S. Air Force photo/Tech Sgt. Quinton T. Burris)
