Maj. Stephen “Boards” Kaminski, an F-16 pilot with

Maj. Stephen “Boards” Kaminski, an F-16 pilot with the 157th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron, checks his communications with crew chiefs on the ramp at Kandahar Airfield prior to a daytime mission over Afghanistan July 1, 2012. Personnel are deployed from McEntire Joint National Guard Base, S.C., in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. Swamp Fox F-16s, pilots, and support personnel began their air expeditionary force deployment in early April to take over flying missions for the air tasking order and provide close air support for troops on the ground in Afghanistan.