Lt. Col. Scott “Cleetus” Bridgers, an F-16 pilot with

Lt. Col. Scott “Cleetus” Bridgers, an F-16 pilot with the South Carolina Air National Guard, speaks with a crew chief prior to an early-morning flight at Kandahar Airfield, July 14, 2012. Members of the 169th Fighter Wing at McEntire Joint National Guard Base, S.C., are deployed to KAF in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. Swamp Fox F-16’s, pilots, and support personnel began their Air Expeditionary Force deployment early April to take over flying missions for the air tasking order and provide close air support for troops on the ground in Afghanistan.