The US Army’s forward operating base Qayyarah West, Iraq—known in theater as Q-West—is the front line for approximately 200 civil engineering airmen with the 557th Expeditionary RED HORSE Squadron. “We’re kind of like a contractor, and we support the Army wherever they need us,” says SrA. Jesse Gent, a structural journeyman. In between their construction jobs, the airmen run truck convoys throughout Iraq.
Brig. Gen. Clarence E. “Bud” Anderson, the last surviving triple ace from World War II, was honored one last time by the nation's top Airmen when he was buried here with full military honors March 30.