A South Carolina Air National Guard F-16 pilot assigned to the 157th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron at Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan, taxis onto the runway for take-off on a day-time mission over Afghanistan to support American and coalition ground forces on 5 August 2012. Members of the 169th Fighter Wing at McEntire JNGB, South Carolina, are deployed to Kandahar Airfield 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.
