OPERATION IRAQI FREEDOM -- U.S. Army paratroopers prepare to board a C-17 Globemaster III. Nearly 1,000 "Sky Soldiers" of the 173rd Airborne Brigade recently parachuted from C-17s into the Kurdish-controlled area of northern Iraq. This was the first combat insertion of paratroopers using a C-17. U.S. Air Force Tactical Air Controllers along with an Air Force Contingency Response Group were also part of the troop movement in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Stephen Faulisi)
