USAF F-16s fired 500-pound Joint Direct Attack Munitions, successfully destroying a booby-trapped house in the vicinity of Al Mahmudiyah, Iraq, on Nov. 23. According to Central Command Air Forces, coalition forces discovered the house in a search of the area following an attack on Iraqi Army soldiers by insurgents on Nov. 21. As an explosive ordnance team checked the house, coalition forces cleared civilians from the surrounding area. F-16s aircrews deployed from Air Force Reserve Command’s 457th Fighter Squadron, NAS JRB Fort Worth, Tex., flew the strike mission.
The six-week government shutdown did not affect the hours flown by Air Force pilots, a service spokesperson told Air & Space Forces Magazine—avoiding what could have been a major blow at a time when flying hours are already lower than they have been in decades.
