US Air Force (USAF) MASTER Sergeant (MSGT) Kevin Bossaller (right), Crewchief, and USAF Technical Sergeant (TSGT) Dan Janssen, Fuel Distribution Supervisor, prepare to fuel a USAF A-10 Thunderbolt II, 442nd Fighter Wing (FW), Whiteman Air Force Base (AFB), Missouri (MO), during Operation ENDURING FREEDOM. The significance of this event correlates in two-firsts for the US Air Force in Iraq. This is the first ever, a USAF A-10 hot refuel (aircraft engines running) in Iraq and the first time the R-14 Air Transportable Hydrant System (ATHRS) was used in the hot refuel process. The USAF A-10 is carrying an AN/ALQ-184 Jamming Pod (right), an AGM-65 Maverick missile and an Mk-82 250-pound bomb...

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.

The A-10 Thunderbolt has excellent maneuverability at low airspeeds and altitude and is a highly accurate and survivable weapons-delivery platform. Called the “Warthog” for its aggressive look and often painted with teeth on the nose cone, the A-10 Thunderbolt II is the U.S. Air Force’s primary low-altitude close air support aircraft best known for its GAU-8 Avenger 30mm Gatling gun designed to fire armor-piercing depleted uranium and high explosive incendiary rounds. In the 1970s the threat of Soviet armored forces and all-weather attack operations had become more serious. Six companies submitted aircraft proposals, with Northrop and Fairchild-Republic selected to build prototypes: the YA-9A and YA-10A, respectively. General Electric and Philco-Ford were selected to build and test GAU-8 cannon prototypes. First A-10 was delivered to the U.S. Air Force on 30 March 1976. By 1984, 715 airplanes had been built.