U.S. Air Force special tactics Airmen from the Kentucky Air National Guard’s 123rd Airlift Wing prepare boats and to be airdropped from the wing’s C-130J Super Hercules over St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands, Aug. 26, 2025 as part of Emerald Warrior 25.2, a large-scale special operations exercise being staged in multiple locations by Air Force Special Operations Command. St. Croix provides an ideal environment for testing the unit’s littoral and maritime capabilities, simulating many of the geographic features that special operators may encounter when deployed around the world to project air power in unfamiliar or contested environments. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Phil Speck)