040818-F-1279W-016 (Aug. 18, 2004)US Air Force (USAF) SENIOR AIRMAN Scott Scurlock, 908th Expeditionary Air Refueling Squadron (EARS), 380th Air Expeditionary Wing (AEW), based in Southwest Asia, peers out the rear window of a KC-135 Stratotanker looking for some inbound fighters needing fuel to continue their support of Operation IRAQI FREEDOM. U.S. Air Force PHOTO by MASTER Sergeant Shaun Withers (RELEASED)

Iraq War aka Operation IRAQI FREEDOM was the 2003 invasion of Iraq, led by U.S. Army General Tommy Franks, under the code-name "Operation Iraqi Freedom". 248,000 soldiers from the United States, 45,000 British soldiers, 2,000 Australian soldiers and 194 Polish soldiers from Special Forces unit GROM sent to Kuwait for the invasion. The invasion force was also supported by Iraqi Kurdish militia troops, estimated to number upwards of 70,000.