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Captain Justin Puro and Lieutenant Colonel Scott Bridgers, fighter pilots assigned to the 157th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron at Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan, shake hands after landing F-16 Fighting Falcons from a mission June 2, 2012. Lt. Col. Bridgers, deployed from the 157th Fighter Squadron at McEntire Joint National Guard Base, , reached his 4,000th flying hour during the mission and is the 36th F-16 Fighting Falcon fighter pilot to have ever achieved that level of flying. McEntire has had three fighter pilots prior to Lt. Col. Bridgers reach this significant accomplishment during their flying careers. Swamp Fox F-16’s, pilots, and support personnel began their Air Expeditionary Force deployment early April to take over flying missions for the air tasking order and provide close air support for troops on the ground in Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom

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Size: 1800px × 1200px
Photo credit: © 508 collection / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

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