Staff Sgt. Matthew Tate, an avionics technician assigned

Staff Sgt. Matthew Tate, an avionics technician assigned to the 451st Expeditionary Aircraft Maintenance Squadron at Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan, checks the radar warning system in an F-16 Fighting Falcon as Lt. Col. Andrew Thorne, a fighter pilot assigned to the 157th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron, prepares to launch for a mission May 17, 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 early April to take over flying missions for the air tasking order and provide close air support for troops on the ground in Afghanistan.