Diwaniya, Iraq.

I spent the day going over all the air officer materials (one of my jobs on the det is air officer). I am responsible for all the JTACs (Joint Terminal Air Controllers), and I mostly reviewed the rules of engagement for actually being able to drop ordinance. In short, it is virtually impossible to drop real ordinance. However, the JTAC can direct the pilots to conduct show of force passes, where they can fly low and maybe drop flares. Actually, this works just as well as airplanes (particularly American warplanes) scare the hell out of the locals.