Airmen perform beyond 'to do' list.

At a bleak outback airfield in Afghanistan Airmen land their C-130 Hercules to deliver much-needed cargo. As the transport's engines run during the unloading at Feyzabab Airfield. other Airmen--hands on their weapons--guard against any attack.

Across the globe in California other Airmen show off the Air Force to visitors at an annual air show at March Air Reserve Base.

And back at Balad Air Base. Iraq. Airman 1st Class Troy Spence--and many others--help maintain and keep the much-in-demand MQ-1 Predator unmanned aircraft ready to fly.

These are just a few examples of what Airmen do each day, whether doing their part in the war on terrorism or keeping Americans abreast of their Air Force's capabilities.

Secretary of the Air Force Michael W. Wynne, in a May Letter to Airman, said Airmen continue meeting the demands of their often stressful jobs to ensure American the best protection in the air, space and cyberspace.

"At every level of action, mission success requires clear goals, defined objectives, and an innate grasp of how those objectives are to be achieved, he said.

"Knowing the mission extends beyond daily 'to do' lists," the secretary said. "It requires seizing every opportunity to improve how the Air Force provides global vigilance, global reach, and global power."

That's nothing new to today's Airmen.

--Airman staff

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SECURE FEELING.

Airman 1st class Kelliea Guthrie (left) and Senior Airman Greg Ellis provide security as a ground crew does an engines-running offload of a C-130 Hercules transport at Feyzabab Airfield, Afghanistan, in April. The Airmen are members of the 455th Expeditionary Security Forces Fly Away Security Forces Team at Bagram Air Base, Afghanistan. Airman Guthrie is deployed from the 9th Security Forces Squadron, Beale Air Force Base, Calif. Airman Ellis deployed from the 355th Security Forces Squadron, Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Ariz.

photo by MASTER SFT. ANDY DUNAWAY

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TAIL ROTOR CHECK. Crew chief Staff Sgt. Tait Delzer reinstalls the tail rotor cover on an HH-60 Pave Hawk helicopter at Balad Air Base, Iraq, earlier this year. The sergeant was performing a 300-hour preventative inspection of the helicopter. The sergeant, from the 723rd Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, Moody Air Force Base, Ga., deployed to work at Balad's 64th Expeditionary Helicopter Maintenance Unit.

photo by SENIOR AIRMAN JULIANNE SHOWALTER

CAREFUL STEPS. A little girl carefully walks down the cargo ramp of a gigantic C-5 Galaxy during AirFest 2008 at March Air Reserve Base, Calif., in May. A host of military and civilian aircraft were on static display at the air show, which coincides with the 90th anniversary of March as a military base, and the 60th anniversary of the Air Force Reserve.

photo by VAL GEMPIS

PREDATOR UPKEEP. Checking for technical data on his laptop computer is part of the maintenance process for MQ-1 Predator crew chief Airman 1st Class Troy Spence at Bagram Air Base, Afghanistan. The Airman deployed earlier this year to the 62nd Expeditionary Reconnaissance Squadron from the 432nd Aircraft Maintenance Squadron at Creech Air Force Base, Nev. The unit's main job is to launch and recover Predators.

photo by MASTER SGT DEMETRIUS LESTER

PATIENT CARE. Maj. Patrick Hsieh prepares 3-year-old burn victim Al Amreeki for a flight to the United States in March. Doctors had given the child 48 hours to live, but two months later the Air Force flew him and his mother to a stateside hospital for more treatment. The major is a member of the 332nd Expeditionary Aeromedical Evacuation Flight critical care air transportation team at Balad Air Base, Iraq.

photo by TECH SGT JEFFREY ALLEN

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SMOKE ALARM. A firefighter at Charleston Air Force Base, S.C., walks through a thick cloud of smoke that simulates an aircraft crash on the Charleston flightline. The demonstration was for an exercise in preparation for the 2008 Air Show held at the base.

photo by SENIOR AIRMAN NICHOLAS PILCH 

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WELCOME TO CHINA. Maj. Anthony Davis exchanges salutes with Chinese Senior Capt. Guan Youfei at Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport, China, in May. The major piloted a C-17 Globemaster III to China filled with relief supplies bound for people affected by a major earthquake. Maj. Wu Qian (second from left), a staff officer at the Chinese Ministry of Defense's American and Oceanic Affairs Bureau, and Army Brig. Gen. Charles Hooper (left), the U.S. defense attache in China, also met the plane. The pilot is with the Hawaii Air National Guard's 204th Airlift Squadron, Hickam Air Force Base, Hawaii. The senior captain is deputy director of the ministry foreign affairs office.

photo by TECH. SGT. CHRIS VADNAIS

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BOOM PATROL. A KC-135 Stratotanker maintainer checks the aging tanker's aerial refueling boom. The check was part of a preventative maintenance inspection at March Air Reserve Base, Calif., in May.

photo by SENIOR AIRMAN DANIEL ST. PIERRE

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WRAPPING IT UP. Firefighter Airman 1st Class Adam Baumgardner wraps up a fire hose after advancement and pump training at Balad Air Base, Iraq, in April. Balad firefighters train daily to stay ready for emergency situations. Airman Baumgardner is with the 332nd Expeditionary Civil Engineer Squadron and deployed from Malmstrom Air Force Base, Mont.

photo by SENIOR AIRMAN JULIANNE SHOWALTER

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MAKING FRIENDS. Senior Airman Mark Ostrander shakes hands with an Afghan boy during a foot patrol through a town market in Afghanistan's Pashwan District in April. A member of the Bagram Provincial Reconstruction Team's police technical advisory team, he's deployed from the 55th Security Forces Squadron at Offutt Air Force Base, Neb.

photo by MASTER SGT ANDY DUNAWAY

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A CUT ABOVE. Senior Airman Brandon Johnson cuts a stuffed pork loin during the Iron Chef competition at Hurlburt Field, Fla., in March. The competition pitted one Airman from Hurlburt against one from Eglin and Tyndall air force bases. Airman Johnson, of Tyndall's 325th Services Squadron, won the inaugural event, for which he received a trophy and a culinary knife set.

photo by SENIOR AIRMAN SHEILA DEVERA