I was the of a section of Hornets on another Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) mission. Since the "end of major conflict," the shooting had all but stopped for fixed-wing aircraft. We had provided "presence" on most missions, and, as a result, missions had become no-brainers. Unfortunately, my day to learn a hard lesson about naval aviation had arrived. I remembered something about there being no such thing as a routine flight. I also recalled complacency was an issue, which even if you talked about it and were aware of it, still could get you. You have to beat back complacency on every mission.
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