A PLANE IN FLIGHT

PAYA LEBAR AIR BASE, Singapore -- Senior Airman Charles Cains writes up the daily flight schedule here Nov. 9 during Exercise Commando Sling. The annual exercise began in 1990 to provide valuable combined air combat training for U.S. and Singapore Air Force fighter units. The exercise allows units to sharpen air combat skills, improve procedures for sustained operations at a non-U.S. base, and promote closer relations between the two air forces and nations. Airman Cains is from the 14th Figher Squadron at Misawa Air Base, Japan. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Shane A. Cuomo)

Despite perfect weather our entire trip, the day we were scheduled to fly out of Jomson, always a difficult, unreliable and precarious flight, it rained. We waited 4 hours and at the last possible minute (because they cancel all daily flights at 11 a.m.), the flight from Pokhara arrived and we were cleared to take off.