KYIV, Ukraine—The first time I ever saw a war, it was on Christmas Eve in 2009. At the time, I was a green Air Force special operations pilot on my first deployment to Afghanistan.
I had already been in country for a few weeks, flying mostly day missions. Easy stuff, like surveillance and reconnaissance sorties, which typically meant orbiting ad infinitum over a target while on autopilot.
A U.S. Air Force A-10 “Warthog” pilot during an exercise in Estonia. (Photos: Nolan Peterson/The Daily Signal)
I’d usually bring an energy drink in the boot pocket of my tan flight suit as a pick-me-up before …read more
Source: The Daily Signal
