"Back when we were flyingrnduring the surge, when wernwere doing [convoy] toprncover [flights], you couldrnsee machine gun fire, you could seernIEDs exploding," said Capt. Ron Nolte,rna C-130E navigator deployed fromrnLittle Rock AFB, Ark., to the 777thrnExpeditionary Airlift Squadron at JointrnBase Balad in Iraq. "It was chaotic."rnNolte went on: "Now, guys are up there for 10 hours and they'll see maybe one [IED] go off."rnThe war in Iraq, by most accounts, has turned a corner and is moving into a new phase-emphasizing institution-building more than door-kicking and munition-dropping. Bombs still explode and firefights still erupt, but the heavy fighting has subsided.rnEvery airman in Iraq has a perspective on the changed situation. They know that, whatever happens with ground forces, the Air Force units will not be packing up and heading home anytime soon. Rather, airmen are in a countrywide mission and resource shift.
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