A long way home: 188th A-10 makes trek from Afghanistan to Fort Smith
An A-10 Thunderbolt II from the 188th Fighter Wing, Arkansas Air National Guard, flies off the wing of a KC-135 Stratotanker assigned to the 100th Air Refueling Wing, RAF Mildenhall, England, during a coronet mission Oct. 12, 2012, over the skies of Egypt. A coronet is when an aerial refueling tanker escorts fighters over long distances, regularly topping off their fuel tanks along the way. The 188th A-10 and its pilot were returning to Fort Smith, Ark., from a deployment to Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Austin M. May)