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Joint Base Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. (March 24, 2024): You know the U.S. effort to save endangered sea turtles is serious when the Navy gets involved. In this photo by Melvin J. Gonzalvo, Naval staff and civilian specialists from the Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center complete telemetry tagging of an endangered hawksbill sea turtle. The Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command Hawaii and the National Marine Fisheries Service have an inter-agency agreement to conduct small boat surveys and turtle capture operations to tag specimens and track their movements. This is the first ever turtle tagging study to document the ranges of Endangered Species Act listed sea turtles inside Pearl Harbor.
Naval Facilities Hawaii, established in March 2005, provides a full range of facilities engineering, real estate, and environmental management services to Navy and other DoD tenants on Hawaii. The command employs over 1,400 highly skilled civilian federal workers plus two hundred military personnel including Navy Civil Engineer Corps Officers, enlisted Seabees, and members of the Air Force 647th Civil Engineer Squadron.
The National Marine Fisheries Service monitors U.S. fisheries of the Pacific Islands and oceanic waters of the central and western Pacific. The Pacific Islands region encompasses the largest geographical area within NOAA Fisheries’ jurisdiction, some 1.7 million square nautical miles. The agency assesses the status of exploited fish stocks and provides scientific advice to fishery managers in the region.
According to the World Conservation Union, the sea turtle is endangered primarily as a result of human fishing practices and that their shells were once the primary source of tortoiseshell material used for decorative purposes.
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Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada. (March 31, 2024): Responding to the unacceptable loss of American pilots during the Vietnam War, the Air Force created a series of advanced aerial combat training exercises held at multiple locations several times a year. Officially called Red Flag, these two-week training events offer realistic air combat training for military pilots and flight crews from the United States and allied countries. In the above photo by William R. Lewis, Major Nathan Persons and Captain Annie Braun, weapon systems officers assigned to the 366th Fighter Wing, Mountain Home Air Force Base, Idaho, depart an F-15E Strike Eagle after finishing their Red Flag mission at Nellis AFB.
Air combat over North Vietnam between 1965 and 1973 led to an overall exchange ratio (ratio of enemy aircraft shot down to the number of own aircraft lost to enemy fighters) of over two to one. This unacceptable performance by U.S. Air Force fighter pilots and weapon systems officers in air-to-air combat led to losses that were much higher during the Vietnam War in comparison to previous wars.
Red Flag was created in 1975 to offer USAF pilots and weapon systems officers the opportunity to fly ten realistically simulated combat missions in a safe training environment with measurable results. The exercises bring together aircrews from the Air Force, Navy, Marines, and Army and numerous NATO and allied nations. The training scenarios include a variety of fighter interdiction, attack/strike, and air superiority missions. Other groups practiced enemy air defense suppression, airlifting supplies, and mid-air refueling. In a 12 month period, more than 500 aircraft flew more than 20,000 sorties while training more than 5,000 aircrews and 14,000 support and maintenance personnel.
Read more: Unacceptable losses… Red Flag Exercises Sharpen Air Combat Skills
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Travis Air Force Base, California. (March 25, 2024): In a job that truly requires a “Jack of All Trades”, Air Force Propulsion Journeymen are charged with repairing and maintaining some of the most sophisticated aircraft in the world. In this photo by Airman Colleen Anthony, Airman 1st Class Lyric Kennedy, an aerospace propulsion journeyman with the 62nd Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, performs maintenance on one of the four engines on the giant C-17 Globemaster III transport plane.
Aerospace Propulsion specialists are the prime reason our aircraft keep flying.
They evaluate, maintain, and repair jet engines on virtually anything the Air Force flies. Their duties include troubleshooting engine problems and determining repair procedures and can even replace entire engines “on the fly.” These talented mechanics also install, inspect, and repair a variety of engine components including propellers. Their knowledge of the intricacies of complex propulsion systems is vital to keeping aircraft serviced so they can be ready to go at a moment’s notice.
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Cannon Air Force Base, New Mexico. (March 29, 2024): In this photo by Senior Airman Natalie Vandergriff, a Special Tactics Airman assigned to the 24th Special Operations Wing conducts a military free fall during Emerald Warrior. Exercise Emerald Warrior prepares Special Operations Command forces to respond to a variety of potential threats.
This year’s event featured operations in three extreme cold weather environments throughout the midwestern United States. Air commandos trained in chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear readiness, and a new decontamination system for the first time.
Training is conducted at multiple locations that mirror the geographical features our forces will most likely encounter when deployed. Participants took part in realistic training on multiple days at Cannon Air Force Base, New Mexico; Hurlburt Field, Florida, and both Camp McCain and Camp Shelby, Mississippi.
In its seventeenth year, Emerald Warrior today is focused less on direct action and more on cyberwarfare, intelligence gathering, space warfare, and information operations. Special Operators practiced airfield security, personnel recovery, and casualty evacuation. Space operations also played a prominent role including satellite communications, electronic warfare, and electronic surveillance.
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Sofia, Bulgaria, (March 23, 2024): “Fearless men who jump and die, men who mean just what they say, the brave men of the Green Beret.” These immortal words from the Ballad of the Green Beret, written by Staff Sergeant Barry Sadler during the Vietnam War, became one of the top ten songs of the era. These storied warriors have been featured in countless films and media accounts for their intelligence, skills, and fearlessness.
Just who are the Green Berets?
In the above photo by Sergeant Alejandro Lucero, Army Green Berets provide security with Bulgarian and Romanian special operations forces soldiers during recent joint maneuvers in this NATO country. The exercise is typical for the elite Green Berets who work in small teams and specialize in psychological and guerrilla operations.
What sets them apart from conventional forces is the intensive language and cultural training they receive for countries within their regional area of responsibility. Their core mission is unconventional warfare, foreign internal defense, direct action, counterterrorism, and special reconnaissance. These small units emphasize language, cultural, and training skills in working with foreign troops. Recruits are required to learn a foreign language and must maintain knowledge of the political, economic, and cultural complexities of the regions in which they are deployed. Other Special Forces missions include combat search and rescue, counter-narcotics, hostage rescue, and humanitarian assistance.
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Eglin Air Force Base, Florida. (March 28, 2024): In a simulated disaster, a gas leak has resulted in an explosion on base resulting in mass casualties and many victims suffering exposure to hazardous chemicals. In this photo by Samuel King Jr., Senior Airman Axel Rojas, 96th Civil Engineer Group, hoses down Airman Aaron Patrimonio, 96th Medical Group, during mass casualty exercise Ready Eagle II. The exercise challenged the 96th medics and firefighters to respond through the entire medical process, from triage and decontamination to higher-level care.
Ready Eagle II is a three-day long program that progresses from classroom work to tabletop exercises before concluding with a realistic simulated mass casualty event. For the final evaluation, instructors gauged the Airmen’s ability to respond to the threat by performing decontamination and triage on patients.
The Airmen practiced their Tactical Combat Casualty Care, the decontamination process, and executing their medical contingency response plan in a high-tempo situation. The exercise scenario involved chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, and explosives and involved more than thirty simulated patients. The patients wore special effects makeup to replicate various injuries to add a sense of realism.
Medical teams treated simulated patients at the incident site, transported them to decontamination sites, conducted triage, and stabilized them for transport. Airmen began treating patients after determining the proper prioritization by gathering their information, applying bandages or tourniquets, and moving them to a simulated ambulance loading area.