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North Pacific Ocean. (May 7, 2025): When U.S. Sailors are looking for something to shoot at, they choose the “Killer Tomato”. In this photo by Petty Officer 1st Class Jamaal Liddell, Sailors aboard the guided missile destroyer USS Preble deploy a floating target used for live fire exercises. The Killer Tomato provides a flexible, realistic target to simulate small crafts and their electronic systems. The target allows Sailors to ascertain range and distance measurements to simulate realistic combat situations including interdiction and rescue missions.
Manufactured by American Pacific Plastic Fabricators, Inc., the Killer Tomato is easy to unpack, set up, inflate, launch, and recover. These surface targets are made from vinyl fabric, are relatively light weight, and can be inflated using a power air blower. Weighing just forty-eight pounds deflated, it can be manhandled overboard by a handful of Sailors and is likewise easily retrieved.
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Fort Drum, New York. (May 10, 2025): In this photo by Sergeant Salvador Castro, Soldiers assigned to the 4th Battalion, 31st Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, fire at simulated enemy forces during combat training. The 10th Mountain is one of America’s premier light infantry units whose roots go back to World War II and the fighting in Italy.
Masters of mountaineering and freezing weather warfare, the 10th Mountain was formed in 1943 as the 10th Light Division (Alpine) and sent to fight in the rugged Italian Alps. The division was specifically trained for mountain warfare, including skiing, snowshoeing, and navigating challenging terrain. Their assignment was to pursue and destroy German troops retreating up the boot of Italy over extremely difficult snow-covered mountains.
The division is most famous for seizing German positions on Riva Ridge and Mount Belvedere over nearly five months of intense ground combat against dug in opposition.
These enemy positions were key to the infamous Gothic Line – a series of German defensive fortifications across the top of the Italian peninsula that kept the Allies at bay.
The Allies needed a way to take Riva Ridge, which held the German’s observation post, a position used to watch for enemies, direct fire, and warn of approaching soldiers.
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Quantico, Virginia. (April 9, 2025): To persist, one must continue to struggle despite difficulties, setbacks, or opposition. The embodiment of this trait can be found in Marine Corps Captain Riley Tejcek. In this photo by Lance Corporal Ethan Miller, Tejcek high-fives a child during a reading of her new children’s book, "If You Can Dream It, Be It", as part of the Month of the Military Child observance.
Authoring a book is just one of the many extraordinary accomplishments of Tejcek who was named 2021 Female Marine Athlete of the Year and won a place on the U.S. Olympic national bobsledder team. Hailing from a military family, she grew up in Indianapolis, Indiana where she earned a softball scholarship to George Washington University. After graduation, she was commissioned in the Marines in 2019 and assigned to Camp Pendleton as a logistics officer. In the fall of 2020, she tried out in Colorado for a spot as the pilot of a two-woman bobsled.
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Ocean County, New Jersey. (May 1, 2025): As huge aircraft drop tons of water on wildfires raging across the country, one of the greatest firefighting weapons gets surprisingly little notice. In this photo by Seargeant Michael Schwenk, 1st Sergeant Timothy Witts, a crew chief with 1st Battalion, 150th Assault Helicopter Regiment, New Jersey Army National Guard, uses the Bambi Bucket system to extinguish flames from a UH-60M Black Hawk helicopter. The 150th was responding to requests from local authorities for help containing a 15,000-acre wildfire in Ocean City.
Based in Trenton, the New Jersey Guard also played a crucial role in the rescue and recovery efforts during the fire, which was the second worst in the last two decades. Comprised of more than 6,000 Citizen-Soldiers, the Guard has won acclaim for its role following Superstorm Sandy where more than 2,200 Soldiers and Airmen were mobilized. They rescued over 7,000 residents, provided security, transportation, and logistics, and delivered essential resources like meals and fuel. For their efforts, Guard members received the Humanitarian Service Medal.
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Bering Sea. (May 1, 2025): In this Defense Department photo, a U.S. Air Force F-35 Lightning II intercepts a Russian Tu-95 “Bear” strategic bomber in the skies near Alaska. Multiple F-35s were launched to intercept and monitor the Russian aircraft, which remained in international airspace roughly 250 nautical miles from Shemya Island in the western Aleutians. The North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) noted that while this type of Russian activity within the Alaskan Air Defense Identification Zone is routine and not viewed as a threat, it is continuously monitored to safeguard the security of North America. The Tu-95 “Bear” is a four-engine turboprop-powered strategic bomber and missile platform that entered service in1952
This flyby by the Russians comes less than three months after American and Canadian fighter jets were scrambled to shadow multiple Russian warplanes that were spotted in the Arctic. In this incident, the Russian Bear remained in international airspace and posed no immediate threat to U.S. forces, however the frequency of such encounters is concerning.
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Malmstrom Air Force Base, Montana. (May 9, 2025): If the Air Force needs something built, anywhere in the world, they depend on the 341st Civil Engineer Squadron. In this photo by Senior Airman Mary Bowers, Structural Apprentice Airman 1st Class Alavinia Dishmond cuts a piece of vinyl to create custom signs that support base operations, safety, and communication.
The 341st is skilled at building construction including installing and maintaining essential utility systems such as water, electricity, and heating and air conditioning. The squadron operates, constructs, and maintains facilities on Malmstrom Air Force Base’s 220 missile complex sites that cover 13,800 square miles. In this role, the squadron manages engineering, military family housing, fire protection, disaster preparedness, and explosive ordnance disposal.