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Ron Jensen ©Stars and StripesIraq, December, 2004:Spc. Chris Lopez of the 106th Aviation Battalion works beneath a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter at LSA Anaconda. Capt. Keith Noppenberger, commander of the 106th's D Company, said the aircraft in his battalion have flown 17,000 hours since January 2004. “In a normal year, a battalion like us would fly [4,000] to 5,000 hours,” he said. “We’ve flown three years in 10 or 11 months.”

RELATED MATERIAL: Stars and Stripes' 2005 story about aircraft maintenance.