The Sunni Triangle, 30,000 feet above Baghdad, Buffalo Mine Clearing vehicles

The flag is a standard issue Iowa Hawkeye. It has a yellow background with a big, black Tiger Hawk in the middle.

The thumb and forefinger that stretches the flag so everyone can see in the picture that it is a Tiger Hawk belongs to Maj. Michael Lynch. He wears fatigues and holds an assault rifle. It appears to be another sunny day in Baghdad.

The guy in the picture is Maj. Michael Lynch, an Iowa alum who lead the flyover for the Iowa/Penn State game at Kinnick in '08. The picture was taken in Baghdad a few weeks ago, and he'll be serving in Iraq at least through the end of this calendar year. He's a great American, a great friend and father and one of the most passionate Hawk fans you'll find. Even though he's working round-the-clock over there, he finds time to tune in for a few hours each Saturday to catch our Hawkeyes (sometimes only the radio coverage over the Internet, but I suppose you'll take what you can get over there).

-- Ryan Rivera

The University of Iowa athletics department will observe Veterans Day during Saturday morning's pregame.

A public address announcement honoring all veterans, and current members of our armed services, will be read to a sold out (70,585) Kinnick Stadium crowd. The veterans will be cited for their dedication and service to our country. That will be followed by a special recognition for the nine Iowa service personnel who have lost their lives over the past year.

There also will be a military fly-over during the National Anthem.

We will be flying our 4 ship over Kinnick this Saturday at 1,000 ft and 300 Knots or 345 MPH. As far as what we can see, the flight lead, Lt. Colonel Travis "Chicken" Acheson, will have an awesome view of Kinnick Stadium. Major Todd "Nips" Pierce, Major Jim "Azzman" Walters and myself will be flying close formation off of Chicken and will primarily be looking at one another's jets and may get a glimpse of the stadium.

As far as it being thrilling to watch, we are huge football fans and are honored to be able to represent the great state of Iowa and the United States. The University of Iowa and the 124th Fighter Squadron both bear the name "Hawkeyes" and it is special to us to hopefully bring a sense of pride for our fellow troops, veterans and the great people of Iowa by doing the flyby.

It will be my final flight, or "Fini" flight, after almost 8 years in the F-16. Being a huge Hawkeye fan, it is an awesome way to go!

-- Capt. Chad Bortell

You'll hear a portion of Nile Kinnick's Heisman speech today. He died during a training flight while serving as a U.S Navy aviator in World War II.

The state of Iowa has done and continues to do its duty.

I deployed to Iraq on January 27, 2005. I was active army stationed in Georgia, back on Christmas leave. My plane departed the afternoon on January 1st, so I had to watch the 2005 Capital One Bowl in a bar close to the airport. As the minutes ticked in the game, they also ticked on my watch. With a minute to go in the game, I resigned myself that defeat was likely and began to put my coat on. I almost turned away before the last snap, but the Hawkeye in me told me not to. I watched “The Catch”, and then raced to the airport. The door on the plane was half closed when I arrived, and I got a couple ugly looks for delaying the plane.

One year later, it was around 2 in the morning as I watched the 2006 Outback Bowl. I was in Baghdad watching the game in the MWR (moral, welfare, and relaxation) building, by myself, with a couple of people in the other room working on weight machines. I spent the entire three hours screaming at a TV, in the middle of the night, at refs that were on the other side of the planet.

While no Iowa fan will forget the 2005 Capital Bowl, few remember the 2006 Outback Bowl. I'll never forget.

Brad Fisher

Cavalry Scout, US Army 2003-2007

It's not a flat screen and it's most definitely not a sports bar.

The gentlemen are in desert fatigues. They surround a flat tube TV while sitting in folding metal chairs.

The 2005 Capital One Bowl is on TV. The Hawkeyes are winning.

That's the American flag on the far left. The second is the United States Marine Corps flag with the United States Army Corps of Engineers flag next to that. And, of course, there's a Tiger Hawk.

These flags hung on our headquarters building. I have to admit that most of the time our State of Iowa flag flew in place of the Hawkeyes flag and sometimes those pesky Cyclone and Panther fans would post their colors, as well. But, we got most recognition for the Tiger Hawk.

-- Todd Jacobus

The vehicle in the background? A Buffalo Mine Clearing vehicle. That says it all. No more words.

Buffalo Mine Clearing vehicle.

The photograph dated May 17, 2005, is taken at Camp Ramadi, Anbar Province, Iraq. Front Row left to right - Todd Jacobus, Doug Post, Ryan Sextro, Mark Coble, Jason Wisehart. Back Row left to right - Devin Miller, Allyn Gronewold.

This photograph is taken in front of one of our Buffalo Mine Clearing vehicles.

-- Todd Jacobus

There's a Hawkeye flag. OK, what's the deal?

This flag flew on Devin Miller's Buffalo Mine Clearing vehicle, his battalion headquarters in Iraq and in his front yard in Ankeny.

When Devin's wife, Lt. Laura (Walker) Miller was deployed to Afghanistan last year, she displayed the flag in her office. One thing led to another and pretty soon that office in Afghanistan looked like a Hawkeye den in Ankeny.

I don't have the chronological days of painting, but they (along with commander CPT Davis) also decided to accent one of their walls in their office with a Tiger Hawk. It really doesn't matter what continent you are on, our Hawks travel well.

Go Hawks!

Devin Miller Laura (Walker) Miller

BSEE 1999 BACS 2008

The Tiger Hawk has flown over Iraq. Probably more than a couple times.

Don't worry. The "auto pilot" was engaged.

Members of the University of Iowa and Iowa State University Army ROTC programs run the ball for the Iowa-Iowa State football game between the two cities during game week.

The tradition started in 1986. The ball goes from the visitors camps to the site of the game. The handoff usually takes place near Tama.

(People designing new Cy-Hawk Trophy, take note.)

Here is a photo of the University of Iowa Army ROTC Cadet Battalion outside of Kinnick stadium just before we departed on the annual Game Ball Run (Iowa-Iowa State game) this fall.

Go Hawks!

David J. Deyak

Lieutenant Colonel, U.S. Army

Professor of Military Science/Department Chair, Army ROTC University of Iowa

According to the United States Department of Veteran Affairs, there were 234,600 veterans living in Iowa in September 2010.

The same survey showed 51,400 Gulf War veterans living in Iowa.

Since the Iraq war began in March 2003, 86 Iowans have have died in Iraq, Afghanistan or elsewhere from combat, illness or accident.

The tent structure is drab, plastic green.

There's a cot covered by a fatigue-colored sleeping back. Next to that is a table with a couple laptops on a fatigue cover.

Above the cot hung the last thing Brandon Kirkley, an Army combat engineer, saw every night before closing his eyes in Iraq. It was a black flag with a big, yellow Tiger Hawk.

I enlisted in the Iowa Army National Guard in March 2002 in response to the 9/11 Terror Attacks. I was a freshman at Iowa, living on the 3rd floor at Mayflower Residence Hall. I wanted to enlist in the active-duty Army, but my parents -- being parents -- were afraid. We compromised and they gave their blessing for me to enlist in the Iowa Guard.

Almost exactly one year later, U.S. forces invaded Iraq. I was fully enlisted, but had not yet completed all of my training. My commanders, however, told us, "It's not a matter of if we go, it's a matter of when". I was a sophomore at Iowa and had just began dating my future wife.

Unfortunately, I had some academic problems that semester and was more focused on deployment than school. I didn't resume classes the following semester, in Fall 2003. Instead, I worked part time at Sears at Coral Ridge. However, I had fully finished my individual combat training, and was now certified as a Combat Engineer by the U.S. Army. That fall, I noticed that my unit, Alpha Company 224th Engineer Battalion, based out of Burlington, had began to train us with more intensity. We focused more of combat maneuvers than ever before. This training continued throughout the winter and on into the Spring of 2004.

In April 2004, a little more than two years after I enlisted, I was at Mayflower picking up my girlfriend to take her to class (she had elected to live in the dorms her sophomore year). As we were there, I received "the call." It was official, my unit was now put on alert status for federal active-duty orders.

Throughout that spring and into the summer, we trained specifically for combat in Iraq. We began to focus our training on explosives and convoy security. We even built a fake "Forward Operating Base" at Camp Dodge and trained on how to defend it from attacking enemies.

In September, we were put on state active-duty orders and training was more often and intense. In October 2004, we were officially put on federal active-duty orders. We had our going away ceremonies, and we left Iowa to go to Fort Sill in Oklahoma for three intense months of training for war. We were told that we'd be "in country" by the end of the year.

We left the U.S. bound for Kuwait on Dec 31 2004. We literally flew into the New Year, celebrating somewhere over the Atlantic. We landed in Kuwait on Jan 1 2005. And here's where the story gets good. After our transport to our base in Kuwait, all many of us wanted to do was walk around, even though it was very late. We had been cramped in an airplane for 15+ hours, and besides, we were in another country and wanted to explore.

I knew the Hawkeyes were playing against LSU in the Capital One Bowl, but I knew watching it was out of the question. Until we found a "Rec Tent" with TVs. There it was, the last few minutes of the game, LIVE! I was able to watch "The Catch" live on TV all the way from a combat zone in Kuwait. Best beginning to a deployment ever! That was a great thing to see, as I knew the upcoming year was full of unknowns, and I'd be lying if I told you I wasn't crazy scared. But that moment, I felt like a little bit of home had come with me. And I felt good.

We convoyed north into Iraq a few days later, and were stationed in Ar Ramadi for most of the deployment, right in the "Sunni Triangle." Our job over there was to find and destroy Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs), or better known as roadside bombs. It's a funny thing, most military personnel try to avoid them, and here we were trying to find them. It was rough, and it was deadly. My battalion as a whole lost four soldiers, three of them coming from my unit, Alpha Company. We had many more wounded, some who came back, and some who didn't. We lost two to combat stress. Like I said, it was rough.

But through it all, I flew my Hawkeye Tiger Hawk flag proudly. And I was able to catch a Hawkeye game later that year in September when I was able to come home for my two-week leave. As strange as it was, though, I wanted to go back to Iraq and be with my fellow soldiers.

We finished our deployment and were able to make it home for good just in time for Christmas 2005. And the rest is history.

I married that girl from Mayflower, and we now live in the middle of Husker Nation in Grand Island, Nebraska. Don't worry, we are only here temporarily. We still make it back for 2-3 home games every season, and this year we're going to the Michigan game and game against the Huskers in Lincoln.

Sorry this was so long! Go Hawkeyes!

Brandon Kirkley

Welcome back, Brandon. Enjoy Saturday's game.