I served in an aeromed unit during Desert Storm and Iraqi Freedom. You know that you are in a war zone when missiles rain down and there is nowhere to bunker. You get used to the notion that over half the crews won't be there in the next few weeks. Deal with it and move on.
Had to send crews into harms' way in Freedom from Kuwait. the wait to see these crews return was bad.
The Hadji store on base sold t-shirts so I bought one. Got others from the CMC and my home unit.
Hot in July and August is understatement. 125 wetbulb for weeks, 95 at night.
Tailswaps from 130's to 17's in the middle of the night. Rousting crews for urgent missions to Mosul or Baghdad after the UN embassy bombing; all part and parcel of the daily-daily.
You train to enter such times and try to emerge sane and whole. Pretend that all is the same as before. File it away.
Hagerstown, MD