The day started at 5:30 a.m. on May 23, 2019, a crisp spring morning at Aviano Air Base, Italy. The rising sun had barely crested the horizon as vehicle engines roared to life inside the 606th Air Control Squadron’s compound. Headlights buzzed on, and row by row, the vehicles rolled past a small crowd of smiling 31st Fighter Wing leadership gripping coffee cups in one hand and waving goodbye with the other.