This is the kind of military story that should make people pause for a second. A KC-135 midair over Iraq isn't just a freak accident photo on a feed, it's a reminder that after 20-plus years of nonstop ops, old airframes and constant tempo catch up with you. The crew that died didn't get headlines like a missile strike would, but the risk was still there every time they launched. I'm not anti-military, but I do think the US has gotten way too comfortable treating these deployments like background noise. If we're still flying complex refueling missions over Iraq in 2026, Congress should have to explain the goal in plain English, not hide behind autopilot policy.