U.S. Air Force E-3 Sentry flight engineer, Staff Sgt. Timothy Van Der Noord of Phoenix, conducts systems checks on his aircraft during a combat support operation over Afghanistan, March 1, 2012. Van Der Noord is deployed to the 964th Expeditionary Airborne Air Control Squadron. The E-3 Sentry is an airborne warning and control system, or AWACS, that provides situational awareness of friendly, neutral and hostile activity, command and control of an area of responsibility, battle management of theater forces, all-altitude and all-weather surveillance of the battle space, and early warning of enemy actions during joint, allied, and coalition operations.