Iraqi air force: F-16s to Strengthen Air Defense, Partnershi?p with U.S.

Lt. Col. Rick Poplin (left) 125th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron commander, and Maj. Blake Cook, 125th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron F-16 pilot, interview with media Nov. 8, 2011, in Western Iraq. The Iraqi and Pan-Arab media attended a press conference hosted by staff Lt. Gen. Anwer Amin, the commander of the Iraqi air force. The general conducted the press conference in front of an F-16 static display provided by the 125th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron, an Oklahoma Air National Guard unit providing top cover in Iraq for U.S. service members. General Amin told the Iraqi and Pan-Arab media Iraq's purchase of 18 F-16C Fighting Falcons, for their future air defense, will encourage and strengthen the strategic partnership between the U.S. and Iraq. Major Cook is an F-16 instructor pilot deployed from the 162nd Fighter Wing in Tucson, Ariz. (U.S. Air Force photo/Maj. Stacie N. Shafran)