In More Depth Archive 

Gotta Be Lots
"Our airmen are flying missions 24 hours a day, seven days a week and doing it so well that our combatant commanders are constantly asking for more. And, they're getting it. … There is no telling in the space of 400,000 hours, how many service members' lives have been saved, how many insurgents have been taken out, and how many attacks against coalition forces have been stopped before they began."
—Gen. John Corley, Air Combat Command commander, speaking after the MQ-1 Predator force surpassed 400,000 flight hours on Aug. 18, 2008, ACC release, Aug. 19, 2008.

Most Qualified
"It takes great skill to operate the most persistent, strike, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance platform in the world. The men and women of the 432nd [Air Expeditionary] Wing have proved time and again that they are the most qualified for the job, which is why the Predator remains one of the most sought-after assets in the war on terrorism."
—Lt. Gen. Norman Seip, 12th Air Force commander, commenting on the airmen who operate the Predator unmanned aerial vehicle, which on Aug. 18 surpassed 400,000 flight hours, Air Combat Command release, Aug. 19, 2008.