What's happening right now inside Iran to find the missing pilot...

Somewhere in southern Iran, an American weapons systems officer is on the ground, trained to hide, survive, and wait.

Every fighter pilot prepares for this moment through a program called SERE: Survival, Evasion, Resistance, and Escape.

They carry survival gear, specialized radios, and the training to use both.

The protocol: eject safely, find cover, go dark, transmit your location to friendlies, and stay hidden from everyone else.

A former CENTCOM commander said nightfall is an advantage because U.S. rescue teams own the dark.

Above, HH-60 Pave Hawks and HC-130s are running search patterns.

A-10s and fighters fly cover to suppress threats.

AWACS relay real-time airspace data to everyone involved.

The terrain could help.

Iran has vast remote areas with natural cover.

But food, water, injuries, and Iranian search parties are working against the clock.

No American troops are on the ground.

Everything ...

After a night of insomnia, and no sleep whatsoever, I started packing up some gear at around 4:00am this morning. By 5:00am, my little girl and I were headed for McDonald’s breakfast and early fishing.

Ate our breakfast at the side of the lake by lamp light. Not even the birds were awake yet. Watched the sun come up, got briefly rained on a few times.

No fish, but for sure worth every inconvenience.

Now excuse me while I go nap for the rest of the day.