140402-F-BH566-233

by SrA Ryan Conroy

140402-F-BH566-233

Polish air force Maj. Przemyslaw Struj, 10th Fighter Squadron pilot, taxis out of a protective aircraft shelter before a training mission with U.S. aircraft and personnel, April 2, 2014, at Lask Air Base, Poland. Combined training exercises between NATO allies increase cooperation and operational understanding of each other’s militaries. Poland continues to build its relationship with the U.S. as both nations' air forces integrated their capabilities through training sorties in a joint theater capacity. (U.S. Air Force photo/Airman 1st Class Ryan Conroy/Released)

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Photographer's Narrative

 

This was shot during a short-notice, forward deployment to Lask Air Base, Poland, from Aviano Air Base, Italy. By short-notice I mean we were given only a few days to pack and get onto a C-130 to fly us to Poland. I was given the opportunity to shoot our Polish partners for a full day and to see how their operations matched up with ours. It was a very unique experience, and it was clear their pilots and crew were professional and their operations were fluid. It was interesting to see how another air force operated, and what you see in this photo is the first Polish F-16 to taxi out to fly with its American counterparts.