Here’s what it’s like to fly a close air support mission against Islamic State militants

While the Pentagon has been very adamant with claims that none of the 4,000+ American troops in Iraq are involved in "combat," American jets have been flying attack sorties against Islamic State (IS) militants. But what exactly goes into getting bombs on the bad guys? Here's what a day in the life of an aircraft carrier-based crew is like:

The mission cycle begins with CENTCOM's Joint Task Force sending the tasking order to the intelligence center on the aircraft carrier. From there, the air wing operations cell assigns sorties to the appropriate squadrons, and those squadrons in turn assign aircrews to fly the sorties. At that point aircrews get to work with intel officers and start planning every detail of the sortie.

Once the long hours of mission planning are done, crews attempt a few hours of sleep. (The regs call for 8 hours of sleep before a hop, but that seldom happens.)

After quick showers and putting on "zoom bags" (flight suits), aviators hit the chow line before the mission brief.

All the crews involved with the mission gather for the "mass gaggle" brief, usually two and a half hours before launch time. After that elements break off for more detailed mission discussions.

Meanwhile, on the flight deck maintainers fix gripes and make sure jets are FMC -- "fully mission capable."

At the same time ordnance crews strap bombs onto jets according to the load plan published by Strike Operations.

Forty-five minutes before launch, crews head to the paraloft and put on their flight gear -- G-suits, survival vests, and helmets. They also strap on a 9mm pistol in case they go down in enemy territory.

Aviators walk to the flight deck and conduct a thorough preflight of their jets, including verifying that their loadouts are correct.

Once satisfied that the jet is ready, crews climb in and wait for the Air Boss in the tower to give them the signal to start 'em up.

While lining up with the catapult for launch, pilots verify that the weight board is accurate.

With the throttles pushed to full power and the controls cycled to make sure they're moving properly, the pilot salutes the cat officer. The cat officer touches the deck, signaling the operator in the catwalk to fire the catapult.

Zero to 160 MPH in 2.2 seconds. Airborne! (Airplanes launching on Cats 1 and 2 turn right; those on Cats 3 and 4 turn left.)

Overhead the carrier, Super Hornets top off their gas from another Super Hornet configured as a tanker.

Wingmen join flight leads and the strike elements ingress "feet dry" over hostile territory.

The flight hits the tanker again, this time an Air Force KC-135.

At that point the mission lead checks in with "Big Eye" -- the AWACS -- to get an updated threat status and any other late-breaking info that might be relevant.

E/F-18 Growlers -- electronic warfare versions of the Super Hornet -- are part of the strike package in the event of any pop-up surface-to-air missile threats.

The AWACS hands the flight off to the forward air controller in company with Iraqi forces. The FAC gives the aviators a "nine-line brief" that lays out the details of the target and any threats surrounding it and the proximity of friendlies.

The enemy has no idea what's about to happen . . .

Op away!

Target in the cross-hairs of the Super Hornet's forward looking infrared pod.

*Boom!*

Ground view . . .

Mission complete, the jets head back "feet wet," stopping at the tanker once again along the way.

Jets hold over the carrier until it's time to come into the break and enter the landing pattern. The aircraft from the event attempt to hit the arresting wires every 45 seconds or so.

Once the planes are shut down on the flight deck, aircrews head straight to CVIC with their FLIR tapes for battle damage assessment or "BDA."

At that point everybody waits for the word to start the process all over again . . .