“Some of the most exciting moments of my two-week embed with the 2nd Marine Air Wing (FWD) came when the cargo door of a C-130J cranked open miles above Iraq's Anbar Province, as the craft motored through the air at hundreds of miles per hour. Strapped in, I was guided to the very edge by Staff Sergeant Mike Torres, a loadmaster. Out of the gray distance, two dots emerged—F/A-18D Hornets, call signs Covey 60 (lead) and Covey 61. The jets roared up to the rear of the 130, deployed their refueling probes and connected. The Hornets were so close I had to switch to wide-angle lenses for my cameras.”
