The pilot of a U.S. Air Force A-10A Thunderbolt monitors the cockpit instruments as he runs up to the military power throttle setting before taking off from Ahmed Al-Jaber Air Base, Kuwait, on March 12, 1998, for a combat patrol mission over Iraq. The Thunderbolts of the 74th Fighter Squadron are deployed from the 23rd Fighter Group, Pope Air Force Base, N.C. The A-10's of the 74th have been flying since 1994 in support of Operation Southern Watch, which is the U.S. and coalition enforcement of the no-fly-zone over Southern Iraq.