Ermey Flight
We carried some interesting people like Paul Wolfowitz. We saw R. Lee Ermey in Kuwait City and then later at Al-Jaber.
     — Maj. John Raulston

Feel The Pain
It is better looking down on the battle than looking up, though. I started as an Army grunt. I got out, went to school, and ended up here. I was able to help a little with the ground coordination. I can feel their pain on the ground.
     — Lt. (j.g.) Nicholas Boyter

Crew Down, Part I
I happened to be flying with another crew when I heard on the radio an aircraft had gone down. It was my regular crew. I got sick to my stomach. It was the first time I realized people could get hurt. I have never been quite so relieved as when I heard that they were safe.
     — Lt. Cmdr. Jay Crawford

Crew Down, Part II
I heard aircraft number 707 went down. The first thing I did was look at the calendar. It was 1 April. I thought that this has to be a bad joke. We later found out that a mechanical failure was the cause.
     — Lt. Cmdr. Darin Curtis

Everything Stopped
We had a dust storm once a week. One time, the sand blew for thirty-six hours. We couldn't see thirty feet. Everything stopped when the sand blew up.
     — Maj. John Raulston

Low-Density/High-Demand
Our mission is pretty clear and we are all combat veterans. We are considered low-density/high-demand assets, and that is an understatement. Our MC-130s move more SOF missions than any other aircraft in DoD. We do everything any other airlift platform can't. We are air-refueling capable. We are a big element in AFSOC.
     — MSgt. Tom Mason

No Running Lights
Our missions tended to be complex. We took off, hit the tanker, airdropped something, refueled helos, hit the tanker again, airlanded someplace else, and then went home—all in the dark. We never saw running lights. In a select few instances, we landed the aircraft where no runway existed.
     — Maj. Kevin Nicholson