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Snotless
We went through eight or ten days of missile attacks at our base. A Patriot missile launch will scare the snot out of you. In my opinion, the Army does not think about tents when they position Patriot missile batteries. The first couple of times a siren went off, guys were lollygagging. The first time the Army launched a Patriot 100 feet over the top of the tent at Mach whatever, those same guys were track stars sprinting to the shelter. One time, we watched a Patriot hit something right over our heads.
— Maj. Bruce Taylor
 Physical Toll
The average duration of a U-2 flight over Iraq was close to ten hours and could extend to eleven hours. By regulation, we have to have forty-eight hours out of the pressure suit after nine hours of flying. Every pilot was flying every three to four days. The long durations and frequency take a physical toll. The U-2's cabin is pressurized to the equivalent of 30,000 feet the entire sortie. So OIF pilots are sitting on top of Mt. Everest sucking 100 percent oxygen in a fish bowl every third day. The effects are accumulative and subtle. After about a week or two, the fatigue sets in and we start forgetting what day it is. Decompression sickness is another threat. Those affected have to go to a hyperbaric chamber to get rid of the symptoms.
— Maj. Brian Ferrar
Eight Turn Eight
We were launching up to eight F-117s at first. We were prepared to launch ten to twelve. We went down to launching six and then four jets near the end of the air war. We had two jets on alert at the very end of our deployment. We launched eight and then turned eight at night. The first group took off just after sunset and the last were coming back just before sunrise. F-117 pilots typically flew 5.5-hour missions.
— Capt. Jim McGlone
Airframe Of Choice
For thirty minutes after the first strikes of the air war, the entire sky filled with triple-A, SAM launches, and explosions from air strikes. The light show was the most incredible sight I will probably see my entire life. Our Block 50 F-16s became very dynamic and flexible within the next few weeks. We were supporting ourselves around the clock with mixed element loadouts of HARMs, CBU, and GBU-31. We flew into the heart of Baghdad to take out whatever SAMs were found for us to kill. We truly went back to our roots of a hunter-killer squadron. The Block 50 is advancing beyond belief. Future HTS upgrades will give us near-IAM accuracy coordinates. Sniper pods, Link-16, IFF interrogators, and helmet-mounted sights will make F-16 Block 50s the airframe of choice in any combat environment.
— Capt. Matt Allen
Two-Weeks Notice
We weren't planning to deploy our F-16s for OSW or ONW for a while. We got word to deploy for a possible war in June. We actually deployed in mid-February. After months of anticipation, we found out we were leaving only two weeks in advance.
— Capt. Frank Bryant
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