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By the time they reached Bati, Tim was wiped, whipped, and weary. They hadn’t stopped at their outbound camp in southwestern Afghanistan as planned. The D-boys made it clear that wasn’t an option. No explanations, but no landings allowed. So they flew through the night and the morning into early afternoon.
Once out of Iran, the first of three KC-135 Stratotankers fell in with them. Three midair refuelings and fourteen hours of flight at the end of five mostly sleepless days.
After landing at Bati, Tim stumbled out of the Viper, felt the earth solid beneath him, and simply stood. The ground buzzed through his boots because his foot nerves hadn’t yet figured out they were no longer on a vibrating helicopter.
Major Henderson climbed out beside him and stumbled to a halt with a low curs
