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San Bruno, California. (July 21, 2023): America makes a guarantee to every servicemember sent into harm’s way… you will not be left behind. Another example of fulfilling this promise happened this week with the funeral of Colonel Ernest L. De Soto, an Airman lost during the Vietnam War. In this photo by Senior Airman Alexander Merchak, Airmen from the 60th Air Mobility Wing Honor Guard render full military honors to Colonel De Soto at Golden Gate National Cemetery in San Bruno, California after his remains were accounted for by the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency and returned to his family.
On April 12, 1969, Lt. Col. De Soto was the pilot of a F-4D Phantom II assigned to 390th Tactical Fighter Squadron, 336th Tactical Fighter Wing. De Soto, his navigator Captain Hall and another aircraft were returning from a cancelled strike mission near Quang Nam Province, Vietnam when both aircraft ascended into heavy cloud cover. The lead aircraft noticed De Soto’s plane was not in sight and immediately began an aerial search without success. De Soto was promoted to Colonel while in a missing status.
A search and rescue airborne mission were deployed and located De Soto’s crash site, there were no signs of the crew; however due to the hostile activity in the area prevented a ground investigation of the site.
In May 1995, a Joint Field Activity team located the crash site in the Giang District, Quang Nam Province and his remains were discovered during a recovery mission in March 2021 and sent to the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA). The DPAA's mission is to provide the fullest possible accounting for our missing personnel from past conflicts to their families and the nation.
Read more: AMERICA’S PLEDGE: “LEAVE NO AIRMAN, MARINE, SOLDIER, OR SAILOR BEHIND”
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Camp Al-Quawayrah, Jordan. (July 11, 2023): America’s armed forces are training in the Middle East this month during Maven 23.4, an annual exercise with the country of Jordan. In this photo by Corporal Keegan Bailey, Marines with 2nd Battalion, 5th Marines fire a Carl-Gustaf Recoilless Rifle alongside the units of Jordanian Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan's Rapid Intervention Brigade. This is the fourth joint training with the Jordanian military and involved 450 Marines and Sailors from the U.S. Central Command.
The maneuvers are designed to strengthen partnerships and improve interoperability between forces on weapons and tactics. The highlight of the training was a scenario that simulated a brigade level attack on a village containing terrorist elements. U.S. and Jordanian forces performed isolation and siege operations, combat maneuvers in built-up areas, storming and clearing buildings, and evacuating the injured.
Jordanian armed forces, also known as the “Arab Army,” regularly invite U.S. forces to training events like these to share common military concepts and to conduct regional defense planning. Since the signing of the Israel-Jordan peace treaty in 1994, Jordan’s armed forces have developed into the most professional in the region and have a reputation for being well-trained, organized, and equipped. The U.S. has a long history of cooperation and friendship with Jordan, with which it established diplomatic relations in 1949.
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Tuy Hoa, Viet Nam. (July 5, 2023): In this photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Austin Ingram, Builder 3rd Class Colby Leche (left) and Equipment Operator Aiden McKenna (right), assigned to Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 3, fabricate rebar during a building project during Pacific Partnership 2023. This annual deployment of forces from the U.S. Pacific Fleet is designed to strengthen relationships and security ties with regional governments. American military personnel provide humanitarian, medical, dental, and engineering assistance to host countries while working with local non-governmental agencies and local military.
These deployments were conceived following the devastating 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and resulting tsunami that killed over 227,000 people in fourteen countries.
The 9.1 magnitude quake was the most powerful ever recorded in Asia generating a tidal wave of over one hundred feet in one of the worst natural disasters in history. The plight of the affected people and countries prompted a worldwide humanitarian response, with donations totaling more than US$14 billion.
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Aboard the USS John Murtha. (July 14, 2023): In this photo by Corporal Quince D. Bisard, Marine Staff Sergeant Gordon Adams points out targets for Corporal Vince Silva, both members of Battalion Landing Team 2/4, 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit as they practice gunnery while at sea. Officially called a “Deck Shoot,” Marines must maintain their weapons proficiency while being transported to trouble spots around the world.
The Marines are firing the M240B Machine Gun mounted to a Joint Light Tactical Vehicle that would go ashore during an amphibious assault. The M240B replaces the M60 machine gun, affectionately called the “Pig” by infantry types, that dates to the Viet Nam War.
The M60 was both loved and hated by American troops. It was highly valued for its reliability, but soldiers hated the weapon for its weight and the difficulty of carrying the weapon in dense jungles. The M60 could be fired from the shoulder or on the hip as dramatized in the Hollywood movie Rambo starring Sylvester Stallone. While firing this way made great film, the reality was that it was near impossible to aim accurately and was much more efficient with a two-person crew. Even worse, the M60 had parts that worked loose in the heat and humidity of the jungle which caused what infantry soldiers called a “runaway gun” in combat.
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Cerab, Philippines. (July 10, 2023): In this photo by Corporal Tyler Andrews, Corporal Mark Bernal, a landing support specialist with 3rd Marine Littoral Regiment, 3rd Marine Division, receives a package from a TRV-50 Tactical Resupply Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) as it lands to deliver supplies to Marines participating in Balikatan 2023. This annual exercise helps strengthen ties between the American and Filipino armed forces that have blossomed over years of military cooperation.
The TRV-50 UAS, manufactured by Maryland based Survice Engineering Company, is a quadcopter that uses waypoint navigation based on pre-programmed coordinates to get where it needs to go, and it can transport a 150-pound payload of supplies over nine miles. The TRV-50 is designed to provide rapid and reliable automated distribution of vital supplies to small units operating in the field during wartime. The Marines depend upon this unmanned system to do emergency resupply and to create a constant flow of vital materials to units in rugged terrain quicker and safer than traditional means of transport. In fact, the system is so simple Marines can be trained to operate and perform field-level maintenance on the system in just five days.
This April, the Navy awarded an $8.4 million contract for the production and delivery of 21 TRV-150 Tactical Resupply Unmanned Aircraft Systems and 12 months of systems engineering program management services support. With the advent of drone aircraft like these, the Marines know they will be resupplied when they need it most.
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Halmstad, Sweden. (July 12, 20o23): In this photo by Staff Sergeant Christopher Jackson, Army Reserve Sergeant Conner Williams negotiates an obstacle course in preparation for this year’s Interallied Confederation of Reserve Officers Military Competition. The Interallied Confederation of Reserve Officers Military Competition is a three-day team event consisting of NATO and Partnership for Peace nations in Europe. Established in 1957, the competition is open to all reserve components for both NCOs and officers. U.S. teams competed against teams from eleven other countries in pistol and rifle shooting, an obstacle course, utility swimming, orienteering, range estimation, map reading and hand grenade throwing.
The Confederation is the world’s largest and oldest Reserve Officer organization that represents the interests of more than 1.3 million reservists from 34 NATO and Partnership for Peace nations.
Their mission is to develop links between reservists of different countries to foster interoperability and to conduct joint training events to assess military skills.