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Camp Pendleton, California. (August 1, 2024): No matter how many bombs you drop on something, at some point you have to go in and take the place. That is the harsh reality facing Marines in urban combat and is the subject of the Marine Raid Leaders Course. In this photo by Corporal Brian Knowles, Private First-Class Ardeth Maldonado, left, and Lance Corporal Brecken Wilcoxen set up a machine gun while clearing a building.
The Marines are no strangers to urban combat going back to the Battle for Hue City in the Vietnam War. Marines have fought bloody battles door-to-door in places like Falluja and Ramadi during Operation Iraqi Freedom making them experts at urban warfare. During the three-week course, Marines learn how to conduct raids in urban environments including setting up a perimeter, clearing rooms, and planning for extrication if necessary. The course refines combat marksmanship skills, teaches advanced Military Operations on Urban Terrain, and ensures every Marine understands their role in close quarter combat.
Fighting in-close and personal is the Marine’s way.
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Okinawa, Japan. (July 31, 2024): Bell Helicopter’s “Cobra” gunship has saved countless American lives while terrorizing the enemy for nearly sixty years. In this photo by Corporal Christopher Lape, a Marine Corps AH-1Z variant of the Cobra fires an AGM-179 joint air-to-ground munition during an expeditionary strike. Pilots with Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 262, 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit fired the missile at fast moving targets in the Indo-Pacific for the first time. Throughout its long history, the Cobra gunship has proven to be a reliable weapons platform for numerous combat roles.
During Vietnam, unarmed troop helicopters were extremely vulnerable to enemy ground fire, especially during landings. Bell Helicopter, which also manufactures the famous UH-1H “Huey”, created the AH-1 Cobra as an all-purpose, two-blade, single-engine attack helicopter to escort these air mobile troops. The Cobra’s job was to pacify the area surrounding landing zones and then loiter above while the battle progressed. They also provided vital fire support for ground forces using both rockets and mini guns at the precise moment they needed them.
On other missions, Cobra pilots teamed up with OH-6A Scout helicopters to form hunter-killer teams to flush the enemy out of the jungle. The OH-6 Scouts risked their lives by deliberately exposing themselves to enemy fire while the killer Cobras would pounce once the enemy revealed themselves. AH-1 Cobras were in use by the Army during the Tet offensive in 1968 and through to the end of the Vietnam War.
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Dover Air Force Base, Delaware. (July 21, 2024): The Air Force has established a unique training program to teach lifesaving and combat skills to Airmen in all career fields. In this photo by Airman Liberty Matthews, Airmen carry a mannequin on a stretcher during the field phase of Tactics and Leadership Nexus training. For many of these Airmen, this is the first time they’ve held a weapon or been exposed to other combat skills since basic training. The course is both a refresher and a reminder that all Airmen are expected to be combat ready, regardless of their occupation.
The Air Force chose Dover for the first Tactics and Leadership Nexus training facility at a cost of $400,000 in 2020. The program includes group leadership challenges, first aid, chemical defense, weapons familiarization, and realistic combat simulations.
This two-day program includes shoot-move-communicate drills, coping with unexploded ordnance, land navigation, and active shooter scenarios. The course begins with classroom sessions covering self-aid and buddy care, chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear training, weapons familiarization, and critical thinking.
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Pacific Ocean. (July 25, 2024): In this photo by MC2 Hannah Kantner, a Sailor appears casually indifferent to the F/A-18F Super Hornet streaking to a landing behind him on the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz. He is justly confident that the ship’s “arrested” landing system will capture the incoming aircraft for a safe, yet jarring, end of the flight.
Crewed by five thousand Sailors and Marines, these “cities at sea” use a launching and recovery system that has evolved dramatically since World War II. America’s first aircraft carrier was the USS Langley, a plodding flattop commissioned in 1922. This ship moved aircraft around using two onboard cranes to hoist seaplanes onto its deck for launch. These planes were launched using a compressed-air catapult installed on the bow.
This launch method is where the concept of “arrested” landings originated. The Navy decided to use a series of five arresting wires strung across the aft part of the flight deck to capture the airplanes’ trailing hook. Once the aircraft captures a wire, the planes’ momentum is abruptly stopped using weights in a block-and-tackle mechanism. Carriers later developed steam driven systems with pistons to generate the force to launch modern airplanes.
Today’s launching and recovering systems are futuristic by comparison.
The Navy has installed two new flight deck systems, the Advanced Arresting Gear (AAG) and the Electromagnetic Aircraft Launching System, or EMALS on the USS Gerald R. Ford, America’s most advanced carrier. Developed by General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems, these systems use a surge of electromagnetic energy to power the catapult and landing systems.
The main advantage of this innovative technology is smoother acceleration for launch which puts less stress on aircraft air frames. The system can launch heavier planes than steam catapults and its arresting wires can take on aircraft weighing up to fifty thousand pounds.
Always thrilling, carrier landings will continue to be routine for Airmen using these innovative technologies.
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San Antonio, Texas. (July 22, 2024): A continuing challenge for the Air Force is how to be welcoming to the public while protecting military bases against all manner of modern threats. In this photo by Brian Boisvert, Senior Airman Jackson Morrow, a patrolman with the 802nd Security Forces Squadron, verifies a visitor’s base-access pass at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland. The base receives and scans base-access authorizations for approximately 36,000 vehicles and pedestrians each day and turns away approximately 51,000 unauthorized visitors annually. Air Force officials must strike a careful balance between granting greater access to the public and the risk of attacks on facilities and personnel.
This delicate task is performed daily by Air Force Security units like the 802nd who ensure the safety of people and property. They guard against terrorist attacks and infiltration by bad actors while maintaining essential law enforcement services. These include many of the functions of civilian police agencies like conducting criminal investigations, interviewing witnesses, and arresting suspects. They also patrol the base around the clock ready to respond to any emergency. Unlike their civilian counterparts, military security must guard heavy weaponry, including nuclear sites, and America’s most sensitive installations.
To become an Air Force Security Specialist, candidates must have a clean criminal record and no history of personality disorders. They must also qualify to receive a Secret security clearance, be of high moral character, and have respect for the law. Airmen must pass 7.5 weeks of Basic training followed by an additional sixty-five days of advanced coursework at the Air Force Security Forces Academy at Lackland, Texas.
Read more: AF Police Strike A Balance: Openness Versus Security
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Los Angeles, California. (July 24, 2024): There is no dispute that the United States Marines are the finest, and fiercest, sea-borne infantry in the world. Which begs the question, “what does it take to lead these warfighters?” In this photo by Corporal Fred Garcia, officer candidate Joshua McConnell gets pinned to the rank of second lieutenant during a commissioning ceremony aboard the USS Iowa. His gaze reflects the pride and determination that steadied him during the extremely arduous tasks it took to achieve this honor.
While a small percentage of Marine officers attend the U.S. Naval Academy, most are commissioned after they complete four years of college via the Marines Officer Candidate Course. This physically brutal ten-week commissioning program at Quantico, Virginia is for college seniors interested in earning the title of Marine Officer. Upon completion, the newly commissioned officer will attend the Basic School as a second lieutenant.
The Basic School is a six-month course of combat conditioning, close order drill, leadership, and academic classes to prepare these young lieutenants to assume the duties of a junior officer. They are evaluated in three categories: academics, leadership, and physical fitness. The curriculum includes an endurance course, a land navigation maneuver at night, rifle and pistol qualifications, and various decision-making exercises. In the field, students engage in realistic live fire exercises at the squad and platoon level.