A US Air Force (USAF) KC-135R Stratotanker, assigned to the 340th Expeditionary Air Refueling Squadron (EARS) silhouetted by the sun during take-off for a mission. Tankers such as this one provide vital air refueling support in this region for Operation IRAQI FREEDOM, Operation ENDURING FREEDOM, and Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa

Iraq War aka Operation IRAQI FREEDOM was the 2003 invasion of Iraq, led by U.S. Army General Tommy Franks, under the code-name "Operation Iraqi Freedom". 248,000 soldiers from the United States, 45,000 British soldiers, 2,000 Australian soldiers and 194 Polish soldiers from Special Forces unit GROM sent to Kuwait for the invasion. The invasion force was also supported by Iraqi Kurdish militia troops, estimated to number upwards of 70,000.