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New London, Connecticut. (June 4, 2024): In this photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Matt Thieme, 225 Coast Guard Cadets take the first step in their nautical careers by taking the oath of office during commencement ceremonies held here. Founded in 1876, the Coast Guard Academy trains future officers for sea duty and to staff land bases around the world.
All graduating cadets earn commissions as ensigns in the United States Coast Guard and Bachelor of Science degrees. Cadets complete a core curriculum of mathematics, science, engineering, and liberal arts plus courses in leadership, ethics, and nautical science. The Academy also prepares these newly commissioned officers in piloting, voyage planning, seamanship, and all aspects of ship handling.
Unlike most college students, cadets live in a military campus where they are expected to follow orders and adhere to a strict code of ethics. As future military officers, cadets endure rigorous training to develop character, teamwork, discipline, and drive. In exchange for a debt-free education worth over $250,000, cadets incur a five-year active-duty service obligation (longer if they choose aviator training). Each year, more than two thousand apply with an average starting class of three hundred cadets. Unlike the other service academies, admission to the USCGA does not require a congressional nomination.
These newly minted offices leave the Academy having been challenged in mind and spirit and ready to lead others in defense of our nation.
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Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall, Virginia. (June 9,2024): In this photo by Army Sergeant Natalie Pantalos, members of the “Old Guard” charge as part of a dramatic reenactment during “Twilight Tattoo” performances held here each week.
Twilight Tattoo is a weekly series of shows hosted by the Washington Military District to celebrate the history and traditions of the Army through theatrical performances and musical numbers.
The 3d Infantry Regiment (The Old Guard) is the oldest Regular Army unit, organized in as the First American Regiment in 1784. The Regiment has been the official ceremonial unit of the U.S. Army since 1948. The Old Guard is part of the Army Military District of Washington’s ceremonial units that include the famous Army Band "Pershing's Own." The band was founded in 1922 by General of the Army John J. “Blackjack” Pershing to compete with the European bands he heard during World War I. Headquartered at For Myer, Virginia, the U.S. Army Band conducts performances all over the world.
Read more: Army’s “Twilight Tattoo” Shows Wow Audiences Worldwide
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Normandy, France. (June 6, 2024): The free world salutes the gallant troops that stormed these beaches eighty years ago to free Europe from the evil grip of the Nazis. In that these memorials are held every five years; this is the last time living participants will attend.
In this photo by MC2 Grant Grady, Retired Army Staff Sergeant Jake Larson embraces active-duty Seaman Nicole Gonzalez during a ceremony honoring the veterans who landed at Omaha Beach that fateful day. The ever-dwindling number of veterans like these travelled to Normandy to remember fallen comrades and to share their experiences, most likely for the last time.
Over sixteen million Americans served during World War II and fewer than one hundred thousand are expected to be alive by the end of 2024 according to the U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs. Most are in their late nineties and by the 85th anniversary in 2029 they will be in the triple digits.
For these reasons, the U.S. military pulled out all the stops for this year’s celebration.
Parachutists jumping from World War II-era planes provided a dramatic backdrop for events honoring D-Day survivors that included fireworks, remembrances, and solemn ceremonies attended by world leaders. England’s King Charles III joined twenty-five heads of state to literally give these veterans the royal treatment. Veterans Affairs estimates one hundred and fifty American veterans travelled to Normandy and, of these, two dozen took part in the invasion.
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Undisclosed Location. Saudi Arabia. (May 27, 2024): The U.S. Marines have returned to the blazing sands of Saudi Arabia to participate in Exercise Native Fury 24. In this photo by Corporal Alfonso Livrieri, Marines and Sailors from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates conduct a long-range convoy to assess their logistical readiness. In its eighth year, Exercise Native Fury is sponsored by the U.S. Central Command and is designed to evaluate the ability of the Marines to strategically deliver logistics across the Arabian Peninsula.
More than 600 U.S. Marines, Sailors, Soldiers, and Airmen from 2nd Marine Logistics Group, 1st Theater Sustainment Command practiced responding to various hypothetical scenarios. Most of the action occurred at the Red Sea port of Yanbu where Saudi and U.S. troops offloaded an amphibious expeditionary force. The job involved moving the Command’s hundreds of vehicles, tactical operations centers, cyber communication capabilities, and communications networks. Once offloaded, the expeditionary force moved hundreds of miles inland to take up the pre-positioned equipment it would use in combat.
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Pacific Ocean. (May 25, 2024): With the arrival of artificial intelligence, the job of protecting the Navy from cyber-attack is more critical than ever. In this photo by Seaman Joey Sitter, Cyber Warfare Technician 2nd Class Paul Mendez (left) and Cyber Warfare Technician 1st Class Romeo Mashaka conduct a training exercise aboard the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln.
Formerly called Cryptologic Technicians, these warriors fight in the battlespace of the future. Cyber Warfare Techs use state-of-the-art computers to perform offensive and defensive cyber operations and to investigate and track enemies in cyberspace. They are also responsible for protecting Navy networks from attack. They are also experts in communications defense and using forensics to investigate threats against Navy computer systems.
Crypto Techs detect, react, and recover from any disruptions initiated by the enemy and continually assess network vulnerability. Should a breach occur, these highly skilled warriors use their forensic skills to investigate the incident, reconstruct what happened, and then develop countermeasures to correct the problem.
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Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada. (June 2, 2024): In a historical first, an active-duty Air Force officer has been crowned Miss America. In the above photo, Second Lieutenant Madison Marsh, who won the crown on January 14, 2024, proudly shows off her purple ribbon lapel pin that highlights pancreatic cancer awareness, a disease her mother died from in 2018.
In winning the crown, the 22-year-old dispelled a lot of myths about beauty pageants and those that compete in them. For Marsh, dreams of becoming an Air Force aviator began at the tender age of thirteen when she and her classmates visited NASA’s Space Camp. She set a goal to attend the Air Force Academy and began preparations for a future in flight. She did well in school and started training for her civilian pilot’s license, something she achieved at seventeen. She went on to graduate from the Air Force Academy in the spring of 2023 with a degree in physics. Upon her commissioning, she realized her dream when she received a pilot's billet.
Then tragedy struck.
In 2018, Marsh lost her mother at forty-one to pancreatic cancer, one of the deadliest forms of the terrible disease. After her death, the family established the Whitney Marsh Foundation to raise funds for research and awareness. The foundation’s mission is to educate the public about the early warning signs of the disease to increase future patient’s chance of survival. Marsh became the charity’s co-founder and president while pursuing a master’s degree in public policy at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard.