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San Diego, California. (October 19, 2023): Some folks seem determined to test fate. In this photo by Petty Officer 1st Class Adam Stanton, a Coast Guard Sector San Diego boarding team stops an illegal charter that is clearly overloaded and poses a serious risk to its passengers and crew. These types of incidents typically involve the heavy use of alcohol and a total disregard for basic safety procedures, especially when transporting commercial passengers at sea.
The Coast Guard is the leading federal maritime law enforcement agency with both the authority and capability to enforce national and international law on the high seas. Coast Guard cutters regularly patrol the nearshore waters of America’s coasts seeking to interdict smugglers and undocumented immigrants but also run into these types of situations.
For those boaters willing to tempt their fate in an unpleasant exchange with the Coast Guard, the first thing is to remember the extent of their enforcement authority.
Under Title 14 Federal Statutes, the Coast Guard may make inquiries, examinations, inspections, searches, seizures, and arrests upon the high seas and for the prevention, detection, and suppression of violations of laws of the United States.
This covers a lot of ground. If found in violation of the law, you may be arrested, have your boat impounded, and any equipment or illegal substances will be seized. If convicted of crimes at sea, a violator could face years in a federal penitentiary and severe economic penalties.
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Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada. (October 18, 2023): In the 1991 thriller Backdraft, New York firefighters battle terrific blazes and perform daring rescues. Despite the Hollywood dramatics, however, no other firefighter faces the types of fires, from minor explosions to flaming aircraft, that Air Force firefighters do. In this stunning photo by Senior Airman Zachary Rufus, Staff Sergeant Alex Urrutia, a lead fire protection specialist with the 99th Civil Engineering Squadron, extinguishes a blaze during structural fire training.
The 99th Civil Engineer Squadron manages all types of hazardous materials, from jet fuels to explosives, making their mission unique among the firefighting community. Like their civilian counterparts, Air Force firefighters’ main mission is the protection of life and property, but that is where their duties really begin. Unlike civilian fire departments, the Air Force must be capable of rescuing downed aircraft crews, on land or sea, in all weather, night and day.
To become a fire protection specialist or firefighter for the Air Force, candidates must complete 7.5 weeks of basic training and then 68 days of technical training at Goodfellow Air Force Base, Texas.
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Wewak, Papua New Guinea. (October 17, 2023): In this photo by Chief Petty Officer Eric Chan, Seabees remove a water container during a renovation project, one of many civic projects completed during Pacific Partnership 2023. Now in its 18th year, Pacific Partnership is the largest annual multinational humanitarian assistance and disaster relief preparedness mission conducted in the Indo-Pacific.
The storied history of America’s Seabees begins in 1942 during the darkest hours after the attack on Pearl Harbor. The Navy needed skilled construction workers, who could also fight, to build advanced bases in combat zones during World War II.
The more than 325,000 members of this new Naval Construction Force, better known for their initials “CB” as the Seabees, constructed airfields, conducted underwater construction, and built roads, bridges, and other support facilities across the Pacific.
After World War II, the Seabees played a vital role in the Korean War, Vietnam War, and in the Philippines. Most recently, they provided critical tactical construction support in Iraq and Afghanistan.
In addition to their wartime exploits, the Seabees also respond when disaster strikes. The Seabees were first on the scene to give relief after hurricanes Camille, Andrew, George, Mitch, Katrina, Ivan, and Maria. They also provided construction support and disaster relief in the wake of the Haiti earthquake. For the last sixty years, detachments of Seabees have deployed to third world countries around the globe to improve lives.
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Bridgeport, California. (October 18, 2023): For scenic value, few places can compare to this remote training area near Lake Tahoe and Yosemite National Park with its numerous lakes and streams that are a fisherman’s paradise.
For the Marines, however, it serves a vastly different purpose.
In this photo by Lance Corporal Juan Torres, a Marine with 1st Battalion,1st Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, uses a zipline to cross a canyon during Mountain Training Exercise 5-23 at the Marine Corps Mountain Warfare Training Center.
Nested in the Toiyabe National Forest, some 6,800 feet above sea level, the Mountain Warfare Training Center (MWTC) is a United States Marine Corps installation that trains Marines and allied forces to fight and survive in cold weather at high altitudes.
The center was established in 1951 to give cold-weather training for replacements bound for the mountain battlefields of frigid South Korea. After the war, the school was renamed the "Mountain Warfare Training Center" and dedicated to preparing Marines to defend NATO’s northern front.
This unique facility features stables with pack animals, specialized technical mountaineering and ski equipment, and multiple small arms and stream crossing sites.
Conditions are harsh.
With elevations as high as 11,500 feet, the Center is an exceptionally dry environment and winters here are long and unforgiving. The mountains accumulate up to eight feet of snow for trainees to negotiate as they evaluate wintry weather clothing and equipment traversing streams and other mountainous obstacles.
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Grafenwoehr Training Area, Germany. (October 5, 2023): In this photo by Kevin Sterling Payne, Army Sergeant William Peters, a team leader assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Troop, 2nd Squadron, 2nd Cavalry Regiment, directs his troops while conducting a scout section live-fire exercise. This storied unit traces its history to the Seminole Indians Wars in Florida in the early 1800s and units of these “Dragoons” played a key role in the later invasion of Mexico.
Sixteenth Century infantrymen were called “Dragoons” due to the weapon they carried. The gun was a variant of the blunderbuss which was nicknamed the “Dragon” due to the hail of fire it emits. The 2nd Cavalry Regiment Dragoons are currently a Stryker infantry unit stationed at Rose Barracks in Vilseck, Germany, and it is assigned to the defense of Europe and Africa.
2nd Cavalry soldiers wear a distinctive 8-pointed star insignia that celebrates an episode in the Mexican American War. A squadron of the 2nd Cavalry was ambushed by Mexican soldiers who were later avenged at the battle of Resaca de la Palma. On May 9, 1846, Companies D and E under Captain Charles A. May were ordered to charge a battery of Mexican guns in what appeared to be a suicide mission. Prior to the charge, May issued a simple order; "Remember your Regiment and follow your officers." The attack destroyed the enemy battery and a Mexican general was captured in the bargain.
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San Diego, California. (October 10, 2023): It is the longest thirteen weeks in a young recruit’s life, one that transforms them from self-absorbed civilian to hard as nails Marine. In this photo by Corporal Alexander O. Devereux, a new U.S. Marine from Bravo Company, 1st Recruit Training Battalion, is greeted by a guest after a graduation ceremony at Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego. This centuries old ceremony marks the complete transformation recruits achieve through grueling combat training, strict discipline, and adherence to the Marine Corps ethic. Recruit training is separated into four phases where students learn basic combat skills, marksmanship, and Marine Corps customs and traditions.
The first phase is the longest, and perhaps the most physically challenging for those not in excellent physical condition, centers around physical fitness, marital arts, and plenty of close-order drills. The primary goal of this phase is to distance the trainee from the physical and psychological habits developed as a civilian and to mold them into Marines who respond instantly to commands under pressure. They are not even allowed to refer to themselves by their own names. It is this “recruit” requests to speak.
Phase two is called “swim week” where Marines learn to negotiate water obstacles and develop the skills they will need to serve as seaborne infantry. The third phase consists of field training including ruck marches up to eight miles, living in austere environments, and extensive firearms instruction. Recruits do more jumping jacks, pushups, mountain climbers, and other exercises than they ever imagined possible during phase 3. Physical training is also used as discipline and to correct mistakes.