Airborne!

By

Staff

A U.S. Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcon fighter aircraft assigned to the 18th Aggressor Squadron takes off from Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska, Oct. 6, 2014, during RED FLAG-Alaska 15-1. RF-A is a series of Pacific Air Forces commander-directed field training exercises for U.S. and partner nation forces, providing combined offensive counter-air, interdiction, close air support and large force employment training in a simulated combat environment. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Joseph Swafford Jr./Released)

Members of the 173rd Airborne Brigade jump out of a military airplane during a training in Hohenfels, southern Germany, on Wednesday, Oct. 5, 2011. Some 1,500 US paratroops have jumped over the Hohenfels training area in a massive airborne training operation. The exercise Wednesday pitted soldiers from the Vicenza, Italy-based 173rd Airborne Brigade against a battalion of Slovakian soldiers. The American military says not only are its soldiers now training with Eastern bloc enemies who are now NATO, but the operation also represents a change from exercises designed to prepare for operations in Afghanistan and Iraq. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)