The military has very talented photographers in its ranks, and they constantly attempt to capture what life as a service member is like during training and at war. This is the best of what they shot this week:
AIR FORCE:
A weapons load team from the 35th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron prepares to load a weapons system while being inspected by a standardization load crew from the 35th Maintenance Group during a quarterly weapons loading competition at Misawa Air Base, Japan, Dec. 30, 2015. The objective of the weapons load crew competition was to gauge how quickly and efficiently teams of Airmen are able to arm an F-16 Fighting Falcon.
U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Joshua Peters, 41st Rescue Squadron special missions aviator, loads ammunition into an HH-60G Pave Hawk, Jan. 7, 2016, at Moody Air Force Base, Ga. The Pave Hawk helicopter features two crew-served .50 caliber machineguns, one located on each side. Peters was loading the weapons as part of a training mission.
ARMY:
An army jumpmaster, assigned to Special Operations Command South, issues commands during an airborne operation over Homestead Air Reserve Base, Fla., Jan. 12, 2016.
Soldiers assigned to 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, prepare to hook a tracked amphibious vehicle to a CH-47 Chinook helicopter, from 16th Combat Aviation Brigade, during sling load training at Fort Wainwright Alaska, Jan. 12, 2016.
A soldier, assigned to 2d Cavalry Regiment, guides a Stryker armored vehicle during railhead operations at Konotop, Poland, Jan. 11, 2016.
Soldiers assigned to the New York Army National Guard, conduct tactical training at a NYPD training facility and range at Rodmans Neck in the Bronx, N.Y., Jan. 9, 2016.
UH-60 crew chief, assigned to the Colorado National Guard, conducts preflight checks on a MEDEVAC helicopter in preparation for a blizzard response exercise at Buckley Air Force Base, Aurora, Colo., Jan. 9, 2016.
NAVY:
OKINAWA, Japan (Jan. 12, 2016) Ensign Frank S. Sysko assigned to Naval Mobile Construction Battalion (NMCB) 3 holds his breath while he exits a mud-filled trench during a jungle warfare training evolution hosted by Marines with the Jungle Warfare Training Center (JWTC). The JWTC endurance course tests the Seabees will, stamina and the ability to work together as a team. NMCB 3 is deployed to several countries in the Pacific area of Operations conducting construction operations and humanitarian assistance projects.
SOUDA BAY, Greece (Jan. 13, 2016) A diver assigned to Mid Atlantic Regional Maintenance Center Norfolk, performs repairs on USS Carney (DDG 64) Jan. 13, 2016. Carney, an Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer, forward deployed to Rota, Spain, is conducting a routine patrol in the U. S. 6th Fleet area of operations in support of U.S. national security interests in Europe.
ARABIAN GULF (Jan. 10, 2016) Aviation ordnancemen inspect ordnance on the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75). The Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group is deployed in support of Operation Inherent Resolve, maritime security operations, and theater security cooperation efforts in the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations.
SOUDA BAY, Greece (Jan. 9, 2016) Sailors aboard the guided-missile destroyer USS Ross (DDG 71) prepare to shift colors during sea and anchor detail before pulling into Souda Bay, Greece Jan. 9, 2016. Ross is conducting a routine patrol in the U.S. 6th Fleet area of operations in support of U.S. national security interests in Europe.
MARINE CORPS:
Marines’ tents stand below Mt. Fuji during Exercise Fuji Samurai Jan. 7 aboard Combined Arms Training Center Camp Fuji, Gotemba, Japan. Exercise Fuji Samurai is held at CATC Fuji during the month of January and includes countless fire and maneuver drills and other combat-based training evolutions that take place over a period of approximately two weeks.
Marines with Marine Wing Support Squadron 371 don Mission Oriented Protective Posture suits and gas masks during Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear decontamination and reconnaissance training aboard Marine Corps Air Station Yuma, Arizona, Jan. 13, 2016.
COAST GUARD:
Coast Guard Maritime Safety and Security Team members patrolled the waters of the Potomac River in support of last night’s State of the Union address.
The first group of women enlisted in the U.S. Coast Guard began their 10-weeks of basic training at the Coast Guard Training Center in Cape May on January 15, 1974. Thirty-two women were in the initial group and formed Recruit Company Sierra- 89.
