United States Air Force KC135 tanker pilot Captain Steve McQuirk (L) adjusts instruments in preparation for airborne refueling of US planes bound for the Persian Gulf as co-pilot Captain Jim Pompano (R) checks order documents as they approach a mid-air refueling rendezvous over the Atlantic Ocean 700 miles off of Bangor, Maine and 300 miles off the coast of Nova Scotia, November 20. The plane was meeting several KC-10 aerial tankers and eight F117 stealth fighters who are in the midst of a fifteen hour nonstop flight to Kuwait from Langley Air Force Base in Virginia. The US military continues to build its forces in the Gulf region despite indications of a diplomatic resolution to the Iraq crisis.

IRAQ USA