A sailor balances on the afterburner as he removes protective tape from the exhaust of one the engines of an F/A-18F Super Hornet on the flight deck of the USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) on April 16, 2006. The Lincoln and embarked Carrier Air Wing 2 are operating in the South China Sea. The sailor and the Hornet are assigned to Strike Fighter Squadron 2, deployed aboard the Lincoln from Naval Air Station Lemoore, Calif.

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Photo credit: © Vital Archive / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

Keywords: archive, armed, defence, forces, iraq, military, navy, reportage, samarra, servicemen, turn, unclassified, usa, weapons