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Hawk Eye, Arizona. (April 3, 2024): In this desert wilderness, America’s finest aviators are teaching future instructors in a grueling seven-week course in advanced weapons and tactics. In this photo by Corporal Tyler Raab, Marine Lance Corporal Elijah Scott, an air traffic control navigational aids technician assigned to Marine Aviation Weapons and Tactics Squadron One, monitors the radio during an expeditionary air traffic control exercise. Officially dubbed the Weapons and Tactics Instructors course (WTI), this graduate-level program gives advanced tactical training to future instructors who then bring their knowledge and experience back to their unit. Students graduate as experts on their particular aircraft and how to plan and train others.
To attend this advanced course, pilots must possess a number of certifications including previous experience as a low altitude and air combat instructor. Candidates will spend nearly two months doing class work, practicing on flight simulators, and pilot training on their specific aircraft. Their instructors are hand-picked from the very finest in American military aviation.
The Marines see the value in having their most experienced flyers “Train the Trainers” for the next generation of military aviators.
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Washington, D.C. (April 10, 2024): A monument to honor America’s Vietnam veterans was steeped in controversy at first but a compromise emerged that gave us the stunning Three Serviceman Statue that keeps watch on The Wall to this day. In this photo by Staff Sergeant Sarah Sangster, a veteran visits the Vietnam Veterans Memorial and Three Serviceman monument honoring those who died or are missing from that tumultuous conflict.
Critics initially panned the wall’s design, created by American architect Maya Lin, as "a black gash of shame" or a "giant tombstone." For many, the design was too abstract for those expecting a more heroic, life-like depiction of soldiers in combat such as the Marines raising the flag on Iwo Jima. Supporters countered that the art is a prime example of minimalist architecture that deliberately lacks heroic ornamentation.
A compromise was reached when Sculptor Frederick Hart was commissioned to create the Three Serviceman’s statue as a permanent addition to the original Wall. Added to the memorial in 1984, the statue depicts three American servicemen and the things they carried as a testament to the experiences of Vietnam veterans.
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Indian Ocean. (March 31, 2024): In another sign of growing collaboration between the U.S. and India, American Marines are participating in Exercise Tiger Triumph with the Indian Navy. In this photo by Corporal Aidan Hekker, Corporal Jacob Sellers watches as a giant CH-53E Super Stallion helicopter takes off into the Indian Ocean in this U.S./India amphibious exercise focused on humanitarian assistance and disaster relief.
This is the third iteration of Tiger TRIUMPH, short for Tri-Services India-U.S. Amphibious Exercise, held in the waters near Visakhapatnam and Kakinada, India. Ironically, there was little cooperation or defense sales to India just twenty years ago. Today, by conducting joint maneuvers like these, both countries have now built intelligence sharing channels to better identify and defeat potential threats. In addition to rising arms sales, India has agreed to allow U.S. military access and Indian units are now conducting regular military exercises with the U.S. to improve joint capabilities and interoperability between forces.
As part of the exchange, India receives access to critical technologies including artificial intelligence, advanced sensor development, and the latest unmanned systems. Future collaboration will include the joint production of General Electric F-414 jet engines in India to power its Indigenous fighter aircraft.
These efforts are part of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, commonly called the Quad, which is a strategic security dialogue among Australia, India, Japan, and the United States. The goal is to counter Chinese aggression through a policy of “integrated deterrence” where India’s is better able to defend itself and deter aggression.
Most importantly, the military cooperation between the U.S. and India is growing and keeping our adversaries guessing.
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Tampa, Florida. (March 30, 2024): Thousands of patriotic Americans turned out this week for the Tampa Bay AirFest held at MacDill Air Force Base that featured death-defying aerial performances, live commando demonstrations, and static aircraft displays. In this photo by Senior Airman Joshua Hastings, visitors get a chance to board giant transport planes and sit in a helicopter cockpit all while getting to know the servicemembers who fly them.
In addition to the Air Force’s premier air demonstration squadron, the "Thunderbirds", visitors were treated to the final season for the A-10C Thunderbolt II Demonstration Squadron. The veritable “Wart Hog” is being retired after many years as the Air Force's premier close air support aircraft credited with saving thousands American lives.
Crowds received an awe-inspiring parachute demonstration the Para-Commandos of US Special Operations Command and a performance involving men walking calmly through fire. Officially called the Firewalkers International, this team has years of experience providing exciting pyrotechnic shows around the world. The Firewalkers have recently presented shows throughout the United States, Canada, El Salvador, UAE, China, and Australia.
For thousands of Tampa Bay residents, the AirFest 24 was a chance to get to know our military and hopefully inspire a new generation to choose the field of aviation.
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Naval Support Activity, Bahrain. (April 6, 2024): The Navy has commandos, other than the SEALs, who are both FAST… and deadly. In this photo by Staff Sergeant Victor A. Mancilla, Marines with Fleet Anti-terrorism Security Team (FAST) join Royal Marines with 42 Commando to practice visit, board, search, and seizure tactics at sea. The Navy recently dispatched a FAST unit to Haiti to protect the embassy and U.S. personnel as the situation there deteriorates.
FAST units provide expeditionary anti-terrorism and security forces to embassies, consulates, and other vital national assets that are so sensitive they require an armed force for protection. Their British counterparts, the 42 Commando, is also an extreme readiness commando force with specific expertise in maritime operations. They work in small teams to build the capacity of allies to guard their territorial waters. They establish Ships Force Protection Teams and train indigenous forces to conduct maritime interdiction and boarding operations.
Beginning in the 1970s, the world saw the rise of modern terrorism and attacks against American interests overseas. The Navy realized it did not have a quick reaction security force to respond to terrorist threats at embassies around the world. The result was the FAST concept of positioning commando units at various central locations around the globe ready to respond, instantly, to threats to embassy or U.S. interests anywhere in the world.
Obviously, not everyone can join high speed units like these.
To become a member, Security Force Marines must volunteer to join and, if accepted, must pass a grueling five weeks of FAST training. From there they go through an eight-week Close Quarter Battle (CQB) School that teaches FAST Marines how to fight hand-to-hand while clearing rooms, hallways, stairways, as well as dynamic entry associated with urban combat.
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Skies Above North Carolina. (March 29, 2024): Vietnam veterans remember the courageous door gunners who protected them during numerous combat insertions. Manning the veritable M60 machine gun, door gunners “sprayed the trees” to clear enemy troops from the landing zone. Today, the door gunner’s job remains the same, but the firepower sure has changed. In this photo by Lance Corporal Orlanys Diaz, Marine Corps Gunnery Sergeant Parrish Hall II, a UH-1Y Venom crew chief with Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron 67, fires a GAU-17A minigun, the latest and most powerful light aircraft weapon.
In Vietnam, door gunners were hamstrung by the M60s rate of fire of only six hundred rounds per minute. These and other light machine guns became obsolete with the advent of jet aircraft and the need for a weapon with increased range, rate of fire, and projectile lethality.
Enter General Electric and its “Vulcan” GAU-17A, a six barrel electrically operated gatling gun that can be mounted on vehicles, helicopters, and boats. It has an incredible rate of fire up six thousand rounds per minute. The “Gatling” design is based on the multi-barreled rotary weapon invented by Richard J. Gatling in the 1880s. Instead of a hand crank, today’s “miniguns” use electric motors to power the barrels and the weapon is equipped with a ""high"" (4,000 rpm) and "low" (2,000 rpm) rate of fire selector switch. They are typically mounted in the doors/windows on helicopters for self-defense in landing zones.