Ground Photo Ops

A plane director signals to an F/A-18E Super Hornet aboard the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower. (U.S. Naval Forces, 5th Fleet Public Affairs photo/Seaman Apprentice Jon Dasbach)

Staff Sgt. Chris Bass operates valves to transfer fuel between storage bladders at a forward-deployed location. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Gino Mattorano)

Aerial porters load a C-17 Globemaster in support of operations in Iraq. (U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Brian Ferguson)
Senior Airman Davey Black, a loadmaster with the 774th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron, disconnects a power cart from a C-130 Hercules. (U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Kevin Tomko)

Tech. Sgt. Matthew Lamonds directs Staff Sgt. Brian Eck as he places a cargo pallet into a C-130 Hercules. The C-130 provides tactical airlift for Operation Enduring Freedom. (U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Kevin Tomko)
Senior Airman Kevin Goldman and contractors load outgoing mail onto a cargo aircraft at Balad Air Base, Iraq. (Air Force photo/Capt. Ken Hall)

Maintenance workers wipe down a B-25 Mitchell on display April 17 at Randolph Air Force Base, Texas. (U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Brian Ferguson)
Maintainers recover an A-10 Thunderbolt II as aircrew members wait to greet the pilot after arrival at Bagram Air Base, Afghanistan, April 17. (U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Kevin Tomko)

A C-17 Globemaster maintainer prepares his aircraft for takeoff in support of operations in Iraq. C-17’s provide intra-theater heavy airlift support. (U.S. Air Force photo/Tech. Sgt. Cecilio M. Ricardo Jr.)
Senior Airman Michael Sevilla performs a post-flight inspection on a C-130 Hercules in Southwest Asia. (U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman Erik Hofmeyer)

Airmen from the 129th Rescue Wing load cargo onto a Russian Volga-Dnepr AN-124 long-range heavy transport aircraft April 21 at Moffett Federal Airfield, Calif. (U.S. Air Force photo/Master Sgt. Daniel Kacir)
Airmen assigned to the 438th Aerial Port Flight and an aircrew from Charleston Air Force Base, S.C., coordinate the offload of a C-17 Globemaster III April 21 at Al Asad Air Base, Iraq. (U.S. Air Force photo/Capt. Ken Hall)

Tech. Sgt. Scott Wilson loads cargo pallets onto a C-130 Hercules from Pope Air Force Base, N.C., April 21 at Al Asad Air Base, Iraq. (U.S. Air Force photo/Capt. Ken Hall)
Airman 1st Class Travis Davis launches an F-15 E Strike Eagle in support of Exercise Green Flag April 24 at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev. Green Flag is Air Combat Command’s premier pre-deployment exercise for units who perform close-air support. (U.S. Air Force photo/Master Sgt. Kevin J. Gruenwald)

Senior Airman Kevin Crawford performs an intake and exhaust inspection on an A-10 Thunderbolt II April 25 at Al Asad Air Base, Iraq. (U.S. Air Force photo/Tech. Sgt. Cecilio M. Ricardo Jr.)
Senior Airman Joseph Cordero, Staff Sgt. Andrew House and Staff Sgt. Barrett Read troubleshoot an electronic error on an A-10 Thunderbolt II April 25 on the flightline at Al Asad Air Base, Iraq. (U.S. Air Force photo/Tech. Sgt. Cecilio M. Ricardo Jr.)