Alan C. Mack

You know, he gets off, they go talk.

We're all on guard.

We're ready to defend ourselves.

And he looks back at me and just gives me a thumbs up.

Those guys are amazing.

So we took off, went back, repeated the same thing back, got air refueling again from an Air Force tanker, and then came back.

And I remember landing at Karshi Kanabat

When you went out and came back in those first days, everybody came out to see you off.

You know, the base commander, the chaplain, you know, all the people wanted to see you.

And we come back and everybody's like, you know.

But we're just so, like, spent from the adrenaline dump.

You know, as a matter of fact, when we left on the mission, they had to tug the aircraft out from parking, right?

So they have an aircraft tractor called a tug.

And they pull it out with a tow bar, and they put it where you have a clear, you know, spin up your rotors and stuff.

And I'm walking along with my hand on the fuel tank.

It's dark.

I'm looking up at the stars.

It's crisp night.

And I can see Orion.

So Orion is my favorite constellation because every time I saw it,