Frontline duty: airmen perform uncommon missions.

Airmen perform tasks every day that most Americans never get the chance to do. They may cruise at more than 1,100 mph without afterburner in an F-22 Raptor, hydraulically open the engine cowlings of multi-million dollar aircraft to repair components, or even outfit a military working dog with specially-made goggles before taking off in a helicopter over Iraq.

That is exactly what Staff Sgt. Phillip Mendoza III does before he and his dog Rico board a helicopter for aircraft entrance and exit procedures and air-assault training.

The training exposes the security forces member's dog to noise and gusts from the propellers in a training environment.

"When the K-9 muscle memory kicks in from the training, the K-9 knows to be calm and stay close to the handler," said Sergeant Mendoza.

As for real mission duties, the two are outside the wire performing tasks including explosive detection, and personnel, vehicle and open area searches.

On one of these searches, Rico successfully located an explosive device before it could harm anyone.

"If that [explosive device] was set off, it could have killed some of our coalition forces," Sergeant Mendoza said. "That would have to be, by far, the biggest accomplishment that we have had together as a military working dog team."

"I love it. To get the chance to clear mutes for personnel so they may pass safely and to find explosives so that they can't be used against coalition forces is very rewarding. I am honored to work with a military working dog," said Sergeant Mendoza.

--Airman staff

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COMBAT COMPANIONS

Staff Sgt. Philip Mendoza pets his military working dog; Rico, wearing specially made goggles during training aboard a helicopter at Joint Base Balad, Iraq. The training teaches the team how to safely and properly enter and exit aircraft, and prepares them for future air-assault missions. Sergeant Mendoza is a 332nd Security Forces Group military working dog handler deployed from Moody Air Force Base, Ga. He is a native of Lancaster, Texas.

photo by SENIOR AIRMAN ELIZABETH RISSMILLER

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LIGHTNING STRIKE

An F-35 Lightning II, also known as the Joint Strike Fighter, test aircraft sends contrails streaming off its wings as it banks over the flightline at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla. The aircraft is the first F-35 to visit the base that will be the future home of the JSF training facility.

photo by SENIOR AIRMAN JULIANNE SHOWALTER

FOCUSED FIGHTER

Capt. Shane Willis stops, looks and listens during an operational readiness inspection at Osan Air Base, Korea. Captain Willis is assigned to the 25th Fighter Squadron there.

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photo by STAFF SGT. BRIAN FERGUSON

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TAILGATING PARTY

Two crew members from the 71st Rescue Sqauadron at Moody Air Force Base, Ga., sit on the ramp of an HC-130 as it deploys flares during a joint air power demonstration over Virginia Beach, Va.

photo by SENIOR AIRMAN SCOTT ALDRIDGE

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SPEEDY RECOVERY

Air Force Reserve Command's 920th Rescue Wing pararescuemen position an inflatable flotation collar of the Orion space capsule during recovery testing near Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla. The collar stabilizes the capsules after water landing.

photo by TECH SGT. PAUL FLIPSE

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SPECIAL DELIVERY

Aircrew load an M777 A2 Howitzer onto a U.S. Air Force C-130J at Bagram Air Base, Afghanistan. The C-130J is part of the newly assigned 772nd Expeditionary Airlift Squadron, Kandahar Air Field, Afghanistan, that has been set up to assist with the increase in U.S. Troops to the region.

photo by STAFF SGT. JAMES L. HARPER JR.

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MAINTAINING GIANTS

Two maintainers await the arrival of fellow maintenance crewmembers on the flightline at Dover Air Force Base, Del. The combined efforts of Dover's C-17 and C-5 maintenance crews keep the base's Galaxy, Super Galaxy and Globemaster III aircraft in the sky.

photo by TOM RANDLE

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NEW PERSPECTIVE

Pilot Ed Hamill turns his Air Force Reserve stunt plane upside down to get a better look at four F-15E Strike Eagles approaching from the rear. Mr. Hamill was participating in a two-day air show at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, N.C., which attracted more than 100,000 spectators.

U.S. AIR FORCE PHOTO

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OPEN FOR BUSINESS

Tech. Sgt. Christopher Thompson, 660th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, Travis Air Force Base, Calif., hydraulically opens the engine cowlings of the No. 2 engine on a KC-10 Extender to repair the control solenoid valve for a thrust reverser.

photo by LANCE CHEUNG

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BOOMING CAREER

Master Sgt. Mylo Gibson records the amount of fuel he transferred during a multinational exercise over the Baltic States of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. Sergeant Gibson is a boom operator assigned to the 351st Air Refueling Squadron at Royal Air Force Mildenhall, England.

photo by STAFF $GT. JERRY FLESHMAN

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POISED FOR ATTACK

An Airman roans a machine gun on an HH-60 Pave Hawk helicopter during a proficiency exercise outside Baghdad, Iraq. The pararescueman is from the 64th Expeditionary Rescue Squadron at Joint Base Balad, Iraq.

photo by STAFF SGT. JAMES L. HARPER JR

SET TO PROTECT

More than 4,000 F-16 Falcon 20mm rounds are loaded into a universal ammunition loading system during Operational Readiness Exercise Beverly Bearcat at Osan Air Base, Republic of Korea.

photo by STAFF SGT. BRIAN FERGUSON

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