F-16 Fighting Falcons wait on the "hot ramp" at a forward-deployed location while maintenance crews ready the weapons for a night mission. The F-16s are from the 20th Fighter Wing at Shaw Air Force Base, S.C., and they are flying Operation Iraqi Freedom missions for the 363rd Expeditionary Fighter Squadron. (U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Matthew Hannen)
080205-N-2984R-072 PERSIAN GULF (Feb. 5, 2008) - An F/A-18 Hornet launches off the flight deck during flight operations aboard the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75). Truman and embarked Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 3 are on deployment in support of Operations Iraqi Freedom, Enduring Freedom and maritime security operations. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Ricardo J. Reyes (Released)
080202-N-9643K-008 CENTRAL IRAQ (Feb. 2, 2008) - An MV-22 Osprey vertical-lift aircraft is refueled before a night mission in central Iraq. U.S. Navy photo by Chief Mass Communication Specialist Joe Kane (Released)
080126-N-7981E-165 PACIFIC OCEAN (Jan. 26, 2008) - Ships assigned to USS Abraham Lincoln Strike Group, led by the guided missile destroyer USS Momsen (DDG 92) during a straits transits exercise. Ships and aircraft assigned to Carrier Strike Group (CSG) 9 are underway off the coast of Southern California participating in a Joint Task Force Exercise. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class James R. Evans (Released)