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Article: Night Stalkers are artists of the night.(Knight Ridder Newspapers)
- Article from:
- Knight Ridder/Tribune News Service
- Article date:
- October 12, 2001
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2001 Knight-Ridder/Tribune News Service. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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They are artists of darkness.
When the Night Stalkers, the pilots of the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment, go to work, they prefer a moonless night, but they know how to find blackness in even a bright, moonlit sky.
"If you are flying in the mountains, the peaks cast moon shadows," said Tom Matthews, a retired former battalion commander for the 160th. "If I have a full moon, well, then I go to great lengths to put my enemy between me and the moon, never the other way around. You develop a feel for it when you train constantly at night."
Matthews' former unit is now on the front lines in the war on terrorism in Afghanistan. Flying ...