This photo, taken by Capt. Kyle Rash, offers a beautiful view of aircraft in flight on the way to Iraq. The picture was taken by Rash at sunrise while en route to Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia, from which he flew missions over the southern no-fly zone.

Alleghany man has unique perspective on war in Iraq

Like many other Americans, Kyle Rash has been following news accounts of the war in Iraq, dubbed "Operation Iraqi Freedom," by the Bush administration.

Rash has a decidedly different perspective than most, however. "I know the places they're talking about on TV, because I've flown over there," he said.

A Marine captain, he flew in 26 combat missions late last year as part of Operation Southern Watch, which included enforcement of the no-fly zone. "We were pretty much the vanguard for Operation Iraqi Freedom," he remarked.

"I was just one of the guys that was out there. I was very happy to have been a part of it. I saw a lot of things; I'm grateful for the experience. It was combat deployment. We got shot at, but we weren't the only ones.

"In my opinion, it's a great time to be in the military." Following the normal rotation for air units, Rash returned to the states at the end of his squadron's three-month deployment. Because of that timing, his squadron has not yet been part of Operation Iraqi Freedom. They may possibly return to the Middle East later this year. A native of Lumberton, Rash now has a home here. His father, James Franklin "Frank" Rash, is originally from Alleghany. An Army veteran, Frank Rash flew Medivac missions in the Vietnam War. "There's a lot of military history in my family," said Kyle Rash.

He was back in Alleghany last week, given leave to attend the funeral of his grandfather, Sherman Rash, who resided in the Cherry Lane area. He expected to return by this week to Cherry Point, where he is stationed at the North Carolina Marine Corps air base.

College Grad & Marine Officer

Kyle Rash joined the Marine Corps in 1991 and began officer candidate school in the summer of that year.

Meanwhile, he attended the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill and obtained a bachelor of arts in peace, war and defense degree. Following his graduation, he received his commission as a Marine officer in 1993. Rash then became a motor transport officer with the First Battalion-Sixth Marines in the Second Marine Division.

He was in the mid-East from August to November of last year, based in Saudi Arabia. Southern Watch consisted of daily operations, he said, in which coalition aircraft (that is, those of America and its allies) would go up, prepared to deal with any contingency. They followed the rules of engagement, checking for and dealing with breaches of the United Nations resolutions, including the no-fly zone and certain weapons systems which Iraq was not allowed to have. "They (Iraq) had to violate some part of the UN resolution before some action could be taken. Everyone out there was verifying, looking for those violations,"

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