U.S. Air Force C-17 Globemaster III line up at Tashkent International Airport, in Uzbekistan, after parachute dropping Kazakhstan, U.S., and Uzbekistan soldiers to a drop zone in Sayram, Kazakhstan, on Sept. 15, 1997. The aircraft have just completed the longest distance airborne operation in history, flying from Pope Air Force Base, N.C. to Kazakhstan for Exercise Central Asian Battalion '97. Exercise Central Asian Battalion '97 involves more than 900 military personnel from Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Russia, Ukraine and Uzbekistan who are training with over 500 U.S. military troops to hone their skills in peacekeeping and humanitarian assistance. The exercise will enhance regional cooperation and increase interoperability training among NATO and Partnership for Peace nations. The exercise is being held in Shymkent, Kazakhstan, and Chirchik, Uzbekistan. The Globemasters are deployed from the 14th, 17th and 317th Airlift Squadrons, Charleston Air Force Base, S.C., and the 97th Air Mobility Wing, Altus Air Force Base, Okla.