Jack Hightower is talking to Kelly when his car is blown up in Cairo. Kelly reevaluates and decides he wants to be in a combat unit. Another class of nuggets is graduating. Hammer, Major Lewis is applying for a staff position with the 18th M.E.U., with Kelly's encouragement. Kelly talks with Col. Doug Drayton and he asks to be ""the ace"" of the 18th M.E.U. Spoon and Ice, on the same carrier, the ""Connie"", get orders to return to Pensacola. On the way back they meet, Burner, who was based in Turkey. Kelly observes a helicopter pilot flying an attack helicopter, the Cobra. He asks Edward Turelli (cc), call sign Capone to join his unit. At a meeting, Kelly talks to many pilots. The team, the Aviation Combat Element (Ace?) of the 18th M.E.U. is called the Fighting Bandits. Spoon says Flying Bandits although the patch says Fighting Bandits. Hogs, Frogs, Hueys, (types of helicopters?/pilots) Cobras, and jet pilots (jet jockeys) comprise the unit. At the bucket Kate hugs Spoon, Ice

Spoon's car is stolen and, on Kate's advice, he turns to Capone for help. Kelly's daughter visits from college. Kelly recruits Cricket to be in the corner of a boxer.

Burner, Hammer and Kelly are on a carrier. Burner's plane loses radio reception and navigation after possibly being struck by lightning during a storm. Because of heavy rain he cannot see the carrier and he may run out of fuel and crash. Back on shore Spoon and Ice nearly become romantic before Capone alerts them about the danger Burner is in, whereupon they rush to base.

Burner returns to shore and Spoon, Ice and Kate exult in his return from near death, but Burner is joyless. Ice is injured by an explosion and is medically grounded by Lt. Lawrence Brandon, her doctor, until her arm is strong enough to work the ejector lever. Spoon is jealous of the doctor and is having trouble getting over his near romance with Ice. Kelly investigates to try and find where the unexploded ordinance came from.

Spoon and Ice look for a new roommate who can serve as a buffer between them. They and Capone undergo survival training. Kate goes out with their training officer, Capt. Ray Hartley, and becomes a victim of date rape.

Missles are stolen from the base. Schaeffer, a Marine, saves Ice from a fire (on the ground) but when his burning shirt is torn off, a tattoo of a swastika is revealed and he is suspected of the theft. Meanwhile Teri returns (this is after the funeral of Spoon's father) and guilt seems to keep her and Spoon apart. And Ice seems hurt when Spoon uses a toast that Ice taught him on the night they almost became romantic. (Teri, herself and Capone are present.)

The unit will be learning Burke's Breach a combined attack strategem or set of tactics. General Burke, a former mentor of Kelly's, visits the unit, but his strange behavior endangers men during an exercise and Capone's career is threatened. Kelly discovers Burke's behavior may be caused by exposure to chemicals during the Gulf War. Also, Mad Dog makes a video letter, Teri gets a job at the Bucket, Ice is still wistful and Spoon is tricked by a pretty girl and his keys and the unit's mascot (a stuffed animal) are stolen.

A mini mart robbery turns into a hostage situation. Meanwhile Capone tries to help out Kate with the local mob and her jukebox.

Johnny Terelli (Capone's brother) comes to visit but doesn't tell Eddie that he is being pursued by both an FBI agent and a murderous Russian mobster. (Endangering his room mates, Spoon and Ice.) Country musician Gary Allan gives Kate and Mad Dog backstage passes and sings Smoke Rings in the Dark. And the saga of the toy animal mascot continues.

Spoon gets a visit from an old friend whose lies put him in an uncomfortable position. The worthless son of a famed pilot causes problems on a mission led by Spoon and Ice. Capone arranges a photo shoot at the beach house with a bevy of scantily-clad women.

A reckless private collects some ordinance after an exercise instead of calling EOD. While doing an inventory, Spoon and Abby/Mad Dog are caught in an explosion and Capone is hit by the edge. Spoon starts hallucinating (with the hallucinations often referencing a canceled golf game) as he drifts in and out of consciousness, but rescuers can not get to them until unexploded ordinance is dealt with. Kelly and Hammer try to determine what happened.

Hammer, Kelly and Ice fly some replacement Hornets out to an aircraft carrier and are assigned a supporting role in a combat mission. Kelly becomes an ace. Meanwhile Kate investigates her deceased husband's past after she finds a picture of a woman whom she thinks he had an affair with. Spoiler Kate finds out he had a daughter born in Vietnam before he met her. Her husband died just a few days before effecting a reconciliation with his daughter.

After a helo pilot fails a training test, he gets himself killed, and Kelly is accused in an Article 32 hearing. The deceased marine wrote letters to his mother, a congresswoman, which contradict the truth and seemingly prove Kelly's guilt. Spoon, Mad Dog and Capone testify. Hammer and Col. Drayton offer moral support.

After a case of spousal abuse, Kelly goes to Washington to ask for raises for enlisted men. There he meets Ali, an old flame, and they rekindle the fire. Ice goes out with Dr. Brandon. Hammer has a close call.

When Spoon's plane malfunctions, counterfeit parts are discovered to be the cause and an investigation begins. Hammer meets a lawyer who feigns interest in him but is actually questioning him. Kate's niece, Megan, is running the Bucket in her absence. Meanwhile Teri handles the estate of Spoon's father and as a result, receives a lucrative job offer.

After his daughter is injured in an automobile accident, Kelly takes her out on an plane trip to a remote cabin but then the small plane starts having mechanical problems. They land, but have no way of calling for help and she starts having complications from the first accident and may die. Hammer, Capone and Ice try to find them. Also Capone and Ice train in live fire hostage rescue exercises. Hammer is one of the trainers. Capone and Ice discover a skeleton beneath their house which they are renting from a hit man relation of Capone's who is in jail.

It's Blaze vs Ice in the Pensacola Shootout where the Marines, Air Force, Navy and RAF all send two of their best pilots to compete. Spoon is Ice's wingman. Also there is an opening for a female astronaut; Hammer worries that Megan has a drinking problem.

Abby/Mad Dog/Abigail Holley meets an attractive man, Mark, coaching soccer and begins a love affair with him. Then she finds out that the man is already married, and worse, to a marine sergeant air controller whom was under investigation for a near miss involving her. The man tells his wife that Abby blackmailed him into sex for testimony clearing her. Abby is investigated and she is to be reassigned. She must try to convince the woman that they both were tricked by this lothario. For community service, Megan Ryan is assigned to work for Helen Williams at an agency which tries to give children with cancer one of their top three wishes. However Kevin, the boy she is given only wants one thing, to fly in a fighter jet and even though she asks Kelly, it is against regulations that he can not override.

Burner returns, attached to the ""Special Operations Training Group,"" to prepare the 18th M.E.U. for a mission. spoilers Hammer and Kelly talk. Kelly is starting to come under scrutiny for a promotion. He has been passed over for promotion twice must either be promoted this time or retire. Burner, who grounded himself, returns attached to special ops training. Burner stays with Ice and Capone, clashes with Capone, and shares a kiss with Megan. While training for a mission, Capone is involved in a crash. He walks away but his co-pilot/gunner is on life support. The injured man, who just got engaged, dies. Capone considers quitting but, after talking to Burner, he decides to stay.

When a peace-keeping mission strands Burner in the jungles of San Felipe with rebel forces searching for him, Kelly and Hammer try to get permission to mount a rescue.

Kelly returns to his hometown, Marfa, Texas, to be honored. He discovers two bodies. Back at the base Capone and Spoon talk to recruiters. Spoilers Kelly's estranged brother was the good friend of one and turns out to be involved in murder and drug smuggling. He used the money to save the family farm/ranch. An allegedly crooked cop killed one smuggler to steal the drugs and money and was shot and killed by another friend. The friend who shot the crooked cop commits suicide but makes it look like a plane accident.

When fears of a terrorist attack cause a special exercise to be delayed, the assassin sneaks away and becomes a threat to Kelly and Hammer. Kate returns, considering another's marriage proposal when she gets no encouraging signs from Kelly. Spoon and Ice's relatonship heats up to the point that Kelly says one of them will have to be reassigned elsewhere.