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Arlington, Virginia. (January 25, 2024): Seventy-nine years ago, American troops were fighting for their lives in a winter hellscape called Bastogne in one of the bloodiest struggles in World War II, the Battle of the Bulge. In this photo by Elizabeth Fraser, Darrell Bush, 99, a former U.S. Army Staff Sergeant and a WWII veteran of the Battle of the Bulge, attends a ceremony commemorating the anniversary at Arlington National Cemetery.
The Battle of the Bulge, also known as the Ardennes Offensive, was a surprise winter German attack through the dense forests between Belgium and Luxembourg in December 1944. It was Hitler’s final desperate attempt to split the allies and capture the Belgian port of Antwerp. If successful, the Germans would be able to encircle and destroy the Allied armies. The Fuhrer hoped a victory would force the western Allies to negotiate a peace treaty in the Axis powers' favor.
What Hitler did not count on was the Screaming Eagles of the 101st Airborne Infantry Division.
Surrounded by five German armored divisions at the tiny Belgian town of Bastogne, the 101st valiantly held off countless attacks long enough to blunt the German invasion. The troops suffered through unimaginably harsh, wintry conditions in sub-zero temperatures and under relentless artillery fire.
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Sao Tome and Principe, West Africa. (January 21, 2023): “Travel to exotic places, meet interesting people” goes the famous 1970s recruiting pitch. No assignment fits that description better than assignment to the tiny nation of Aao Tome and Principe. In this photo by MC2 Andrew Waters, Hospital Corpsman 1st Class Nathaniel Yarbrough, assigned to Navy Underwater Construction Team 1, follows a buoy chain to surface during an underwater survey of a coast guard pier. These divers belong to the famous Seabees underwater construction units numbered 1 and 2 that were created in 1974. They specialize in both underwater construction and demolition and are in Sao Tome and Principe as part of the Navy’s Africa Partnership, a multinational strategic program to increase the professionalism of African militaries.
They do this by conducting joint exercises, port visits, hands-on practical courses, and community outreach with the coastal nations of Africa. Underwater Construction Team 1, comprised of seven officers and seventy-one enlisted, is assisting local coast guards to maintain their underwater facilities and teaching skills that enhance their ability to respond to mariners in distress.
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Parris Island, South Carolina. (January 17, 2024). In a previous life, I had the honor to serve as a Primary Leadership Development Instructor, short for the Army’s NCO academy, and my job was to train the next generation of combat leaders. An essential part of the curriculum is the science of map reading and land navigation that every student must master to pass. In this photo Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Ava Alegria, a recruit participates in a land navigation course using the “old fashioned” compass, protractor, and a pencil method.
Today’s young troops, so accustomed to digital technology to solve problems, often find using these unsophisticated methods a bore. Why not just use GPS and not rely on human calculations at all? My response was always, “What happens when the enemy knocks out the satellites?"
This is why the U.S. military continues to teach map reading in this elemental way to prospective infantry leaders. Every infantry leader must be able to identify their position and navigate to various objectives without any electronic assistance. Students begin by understanding how to identify a grid square and to locate a point within it. A grid square is a division of the earth represented on a map on a scale of 1:50,000 (each centimeter is equal to 500 meters on the ground). Locations within this square are referred to as grid coordinates.
Terrain features are displayed using contour lines that identify hills, ridges, valleys, saddles (two small hills sitting side-by-side), and depressions. The closer the contour lines are to one another, the steeper the terrain. The father apart the lines are indicates a flat, sloping terrain. They also learn the colors and symbols used to identify bodies of water or man-made structures like railways or roads.
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Spaceport, New Mexico. (January 17, 2024): It is one of the most spectacular demonstrations of aerial skill and daring in the world. In this photo by Staff Sergeant Breanna Klemm, the United States Air Force Air Demonstration Team “Thunderbirds” conduct winter training in preparation for another season entertaining audiences. The Thunderbirds were formed in 1953, just six years after the U.S. Air Force became its own branch of service, and they are the third-oldest formal flying aerobatic team in the world. Today’s Thunderbirds are assigned to the Air Force’s 57th Wing based at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada.
The squadron's name is taken from the legendary creature that appears in the mythologies of several indigenous North American cultures. The Thunderbird, according to the Algonquian people’s mythology, rules the upper world while the Great Horned Serpent governs the underworld. The Thunderbird controls this ancient demon by firing thunderbolts to prevent it from overrunning the earth and devouring mankind. To these early American Indian tribes, the Thunderbird was literally a messenger from the Great Sun himself.
To become a Thunderbird, a pilot must undergo a rigorous selection process and must be nominated by at least two active Thunderbirds. Candidates must be experienced fighter pilots with a minimum of 750 hours in a fighter aircraft and must have demonstrated superior flying skills during their time in operational units. All candidates must have at least 3 years (but no more than 12 years) of military service and can expect to join the team for two years.
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Kodiak, Alaska. (January 8, 2024): Yes, THAT Alex Haley. In this photo by Petty Officer 1st Class Jasen Newman, crew members assigned to the Coast Guard Cutter Alex Haley conduct in-flight helicopter refueling of a MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter while on patrol in the Bering Sea. The Cutter’s namesake is indeed the famous author of Roots: The Saga of an American Family that became a worldwide sensation and won him the 1977 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. ABC adapted the book into a television miniseries that aired to a record-breaking audience of 130 million viewers. Haley served in the Coast Guard until his retirement in 1959 at the rank of Chief Petty Officer with an extensive list of decorations from his service in World War II and Korea.
The Cutter Alex Haley operates in one of the most dangerous oceans on earth. Its mission is to rescue ships at sea and enforce maritime law in America’s most northern regions. The Bering Sea is in the Northern Pacific Ocean which divides the two largest land masses on earth, the Americas and Eurasia. The narrowest point of the sea is the Bering Strait which is only fifty-three miles wide and whose strong currents and unpredictable depths make it particularly treacherous. The Bering is one of the coldest seas on earth with frigid temperatures often below freezing for most of the year. Its shallow depth, volatile weather, and extremely cold sea temperatures create waves that are shorter and pack more power than deep sea waves. Winter storms are frequent and severe, often coating the superstructures of ships with ice and generating wave heights that may exceed forty feet.
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Marine Corps Barracks, Washington D.C. (January 25, 2024): "All right, they're on our left, they're on our right, they're in front of us, they're behind us...they can't get away this time." U.S. Marine Chesty Puller. These words from America’s most decorated Marine typify the courage and tenacity of the Corps. In this photo by Lance Cpl. Chloe McAfee, Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Chesty XVI, the Marine Corps mascot, stands at attention while Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro promotes him from the rank of private first class to Corporal during a ceremony at Marine Barracks Washington, Jan. 17, 2024.
In 1957, the Corps adopted the tenacious bulldog as its mascot in honor of Puller who was awarded five Navy Crosses and one Distinguished Service Cross for bravery across three wars and two counterinsurgency campaigns. With six crosses, Puller is second behind Eddie Rickenbacker for citations of the nation's second-highest military award for valor. Puller retired from the Marine Corps in 1955 after 37 years of service and he died in 1971 at age 73.
To this day, the unofficial “lights out” slogan of the Marines is “Good night, Chesty, wherever you are.”