OPERATION IRAQI FREEDOM — A British C-130J launches flare countermeasures prior to being the first coalition aircraft to land on the newly reopened military runway at Baghdad International Airport, July 1, 2003. The military runway was bombed by coalition aircraft and has been closed since the beginning of the war. The runway was repaired by the 1st Expeditionary Red Horse Group and the 447th Expeditionary Civil Engineer Squadron and is now operational. The British transport delivered cargo and passengers to Baghdad in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. (U.S. Air Force photo by Master Sgt. Robert R. Hargreaves Jr.)
