Osprey training mission

Pilots fly during a training mission Feb. 1, 2011, at Hurlburt Field, Fla. (U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Michael B. Keller)

Osprey training mission

Master Sgt. John Rhoten waits after a preflight check of a CV-22 Osprey before a training mission Feb. 1, 2011, at Hurlburt Field, Fla. Sergeant Rhoten is a flight engineer assigned to the 8th Special Operations Squadron. (U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Michael B. Keller)

Operation Christmas Drop a team effort

Airmen from the 36th Airlift Squadron, Yokota Air Base, Japan, load boxes of donated goods worth more than $93,000 onto a C-130 Hercules prior to take-off from Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, during Operation Christmas Drop Dec. 14, 2010. This year more than 60 boxes will be dropped to 55 Island weighing in at more than 20,000 pounds. Operation Christmas Drop is the Air Force's longest-running humanitarian campaign which began in 1952. Airmen today continue the tradition delivering supplies to remote islands of the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas Islands, Yap, Palau, Chuuk and Pohnpei. (U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman Nichelle Anderson)

Showing its versatility

A CV-22 Osprey lands on the range April 29, 2010, at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla. The Osprey demonstrated some of its capabilities to participants of Joint Civilian Orientation Course, a secretary of Defense sponsored program. The course gives civilian community leaders the opportunity to learn about the military and national defense. (U.S. Air Force photo/Master Sgt. Russell E. Cooley IV)

E-4B milestone

Master Sgt. Dan Bloomquist, a flight engineer with the 1st Airborne Command and Control Squadron at Offutt Air Force Base, Neb., preps an E-4B for flight during a simulated alert mission. The E-4B serves as the National Airborne Operations Center for the president, secretary of defense and chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The aircraft passed a significant milestone this month by sitting alert constantly for more than 35 years. (U.S. Air Force photo/Lance Cheung)

E-4B milestone

Lt. Col. James D'Amour arrives at the flight deck as Lt. Col. Tim Carter makes his way up the stairs of an E-4B at Offutt Air Force Base, Neb. The E-4B serves as the National Airborne Operations Center for the president, secretary of defense and chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The aircraft passed a significant milestone this month by sitting alert constantly for more than 35 years. (U.S. Air Force photo/Lance Cheung)