A British C-130J Hercules aircraft launches defensive countermeasures prior to being the first coalition aircraft to land on the newly reopened military runway at Baghdad International Airport

Central Command Area of Responsibility (Jul. 01, 2003) A British C-130J Hercules aircraft launches defensive countermeasures prior to being the first coalition aircraft to land on the newly reopened military runway at Baghdad International Airport. The military runway was bombed by coalition aircraft and had been closed since the beginning of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Thanks to the help of the 1st Expeditionary Red Horse Group and the 447th Expeditionary Civil Engineering Squadron, the runway has been repaired and is once again operational. The British aircraft was delivering cargo and passengers to Baghdad in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Operation Iraqi Freedom is the multi-national coalition effort to liberate the Iraqi people, eliminate Iraq's weapons of mass destruction, and end the regime of Saddam Hussein. U.S. Air Force photo by Master Sgt. Robert R. Hargreaves Jr. File# 030701-F-7685H-036