Page 18 - Luke AFB Thunderbolt, Sept. 1 2017

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18 September 2017 70 years of airpower
Global War on Terror
On Sept. 11, 2001, the world changed.
Following the attacks, in 2001, the U.S. Air Force was deployed against the Taliban forces in Afghanistan.
Operating from Diego Garcia, Chagos Archipelago, B-52 Stratofortress and B-1 Lancer bombers attacked Taliban positions. The Air Force deployed daisy cutter bombs, dropped from C-130 Hercules cargo planes, for the first time since the Vietnam War. During this conflict, the Air Force opened up bases in Central Asia for the first time.
The Air Force was deployed in the 2003 invasion of Iraq and, following the defeat of Saddam Hussein’s regime, the Air Force took over Baghdad International Airport as a base.
Operations in both Afghanistan and Iraq demonstrated the effective utility of Un- manned Air Vehicles, the most prominent of which was the MQ-1 Predator.
A total of 54 Air Force personnel died in the Iraq War.
Thunderbolt http://www.luke.af.mil
Tech. Sgt. Robert Cloys
Capt. Tim Six, a 421st Expeditionary Fighter Squadron pilot, takes off for a combat sortie in an F-16 Fighting Falcon at Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan, March 14, 2016. The 421st EFS, based out of Bagram Airfield, is the only dedicated fighter squadron in the country and continuously supports Operation Freedom’s Sentinel and NATO’s Resolute Support missions.
GULF WAR
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and Operation Northern Watch 1997- 2003 patrolled no-fly zones north of the 36th parallel north and Operation Southern Watch patrolled the no-fly zone south of the 33rd parallel north.
By December 2011, all U.S. forces were removed from Iraq.
In March 2011, U.S. Air Force jets bombed military targets in Libya as part of the
international effort to enforce a United Nations resolution that imposed no-fly zone over the country and protected its people from the civil war that occurred when its
dictator, Muammar Gaddafi suppressed the protests calling for the end of his regime. Protests were inspired by the revolutions in Tunisia and Egypt.
the war to ensure that Iraq’s air de- fense capability could not be rebuilt. Operation Provide Comfort 1991-96
An A-10 Thunderbolt II departs after receiving fuel from a 340th Expedition- ary Air Refueling Squadron KC-135 Stratotanker during a flight in support of Operation Inherent Resolve, July 6, 2017. The A-10 employs a wide variety of conventional munitions in support of OIR and the destruction of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria.
Master Sgt. Terry L. Blevins
Staff Sgt. Trevor T. McBride
F-15E Strike Eagles from the 494th Fighter Squadron at Royal Air Force Lakenheath, Eng- land, arrive at a forward-deployed location in Southwest Asia.