Army Chief Warrant Officer Clayton Pickle performs pre-flight checks on his UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter before taking off on a mission during Southern Strike 17 at the Gulfport Combat Readiness Training Center, Miss., Oct. 26, 2017. Pickle is a pilot assigned to the Mississippi Army National Guard’s Golf Company, 1st Battalion, 168th Aviation Regiment. Southern Strike 17 is a total force, multi-service training exercise hosted by the Mississippi Air National Guard’s Combat Readiness Training Center in Gulfport, Miss., from Oct. 24 through Nov. 4, 2016. The exercise emphasizes air-to-air, air-to-ground and special operations forces training opportunities. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Sean Carnes