US Air Force/American Troops/Five-ship formation/C-17 Globemaster III /F-16 at Green Flag/C-130 Hercules/KC-135/A-10C

Five-ship formation
F-16 Fighting Falcons with the U.S. Air Force Aerial Demonstration Squadron Thunderbirds perform a 5-ship formation after refueling from a KC-135 Stratotanker assigned to the 92nd Air Refueling Wing over Glacier National Park, Montana, Sept. 1, 2014. The Thunderbirds were making their way back to Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada, where they are assigned to the 57th Wing. 

Humanitarian airdrop
U.S. Army parachute riggers from the 11th Quartermaster Company assemble 40 container delivery system bundles of water onto a C-17 Globemaster III for a humanitarian airdrop over the area if Amirli, Iraq Aug. 30, 2014. Two C-17s dropped 79 bundles of fresh drinking water totaling 7,513 gallons. In addition, two C-130 Hercules dropped 30 bundles containing 3,032 gallons of water and 7,056 Halal Meals Ready to Eat.

F-16 at Green Flag-West
An F-16 Fighting Falcon from the 309th Fighter Squadron, Luke Air Force Base, Ariz., taxis to the runway during Green Flag-West 14-09 at Nellis AFB, Nev., Aug. 21, 2014. Green Flag exercises give visiting units the opportunity to train in air-to-ground combat operations. Many of the training exercise scenarios call for providing air support to ground troops who are participating in ground combat exercises.

U.S. C-130 escorted by Canadian jets
A C-130 Hercules from the 182nd Airlift Wing, Peoria, Ill., is being escorted by Canadian Alpha Jets during Operation Northern Strike 2014 near Rogers City, Mich., on Aug. 7, 2014. Operation Northern Strike 2014 is a joint multinational combined arms training exercise conducted in Michigan.

First takeoff 

For the first time ever, the 163rd Reconnaissance Wing flies the MQ‐9 Reaper in the airspace over the Southern California Logistics Airport in Victorville, Calif., July 30, 2014.

hunderbolts set off flares Capts. Andrew Glowa, left, and William Piepenbring launch flares from two A-10C Thunderbolt IIs Aug. 18, 2014, over southern Georgia. Both pilots are with the 74th Fighter Squadron, Moody Air Force Base, Ga. Pilots, maintainers and support Airmen ensure Moody AFB’s A-10s stay mission ready for daily training sorties and deployments downrange.

Bird bath
A KC-135 Stratotanker taxis through the wash rack, also known as a bird bath, after a mission at Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, Aug. 18, 2014. The KC-135 is assigned to the Air National Guard’s 134th Air Refueling Wing.