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Muscatatuck Urban Training Center, Indiana. (September 19, 2024): There are many ways to detect and diffuse land mines, but sometimes a troop simply needs to get down and personal with these killers. In this photo by Jason Wilkinson, Technical Sergeant Clay Gorham, an explosive ordnance disposal technician from the 355th Civil Engineer Squadron Contingency, Exercise and Deployment, displays the oldest and most primitive method of disposing of explosive devices.
The tedious process, which dates to World War II, begins by carefully clearing debris around the device to determine what type of explosive it contains. Next, a knife blade is inserted at a thirty-degree angle into the ground around the mine to allow room to defuse the device. Any careless move spells instant death.
There are two main types of land mines, one to destroy tanks and armored vehicles and the other to kill humans. Anti-tank mines typically are larger and require more weight to set them off. Infantry troops will not likely trigger these devices.
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Vietnam. (September 10, 2024): America makes a solemn promise to every person who dons the uniform of our country; You will not be left behind. In this photo by Sergeant Keion Jackson, members of the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency repatriation team prepare to drape a flag during a ceremony transferring possible remains for identification. The ceremony marked the end of this round of efforts to recover unaccounted-for personnel from the Vietnam War.
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency was formed by consolidating multiple organizations into one sophisticated search and recovery operation. The Agency is charged with searching for more than 80,000 American service personnel who are missing from previous conflicts.
The Agency’s Laboratory is the world’s largest skeletal identification facility and is staffed by more than 150 anthropologists, archaeologists, forensic odontologists, and support personnel. The lab has three locations, two in Hawaii and another in Nebraska.
The recovery work begins in the field much the same way a crime scene would be treated only it is an archaeological site. As such, scientists use accredited forensic best practices that are recognized by authorities and will stand up in court. These recovery missions typically last about sixty days and sites can range in size from a few feet to an area as large as a football field in air crash investigations.
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Greenville, South Carolina. (September 22, 2024): Every year, the U.S. military competes with big business for talent, particularly young leaders to serve as the next generation of officers. In this photo by Army National Guard Specialist Turner Horton, a new crop of Army aviators poses for a photo session in support of the South Carolina Army National Guard’s recruitment and talent management effort. They are the epitome of the style and image the Guard wants to convey to young people thinking about serving.
To be competitive, the military is taking its cue from commercial businesses, particularly how they attract and develop talent. The military studied how big corporations use highly sophisticated models for their hiring and retention programs and how they tailor their approach to managing this new generation.
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Osan Air Base, South Korea. (September 25, 2024): Russia is a perfect example of how military corruption can destroy an Army in the field quicker than bombs and bullets. In this photo by Air Force Staff Sergeant Kahdija Slaughter, Senior Airman Raven Robinson conducts an inventory of every item and the location of every piece of equipment in their care. Inventory technicians conduct counts, issue materials, and ensure necessary items are restocked and available for use. Their honesty, integrity, and commitment to the service is the backbone of America’s war on corruption in the military. Corruption at any level is a threat to the lives of every service member.
The best example of military fraud is the Russian Army now hopelessly bogged down in Ukraine. In the post-Soviet system, senior administrators and Generals routinely steer large military sales to friendly contractors, which explains their lavish lifestyles. Meanwhile, mid-level officers help themselves to bulk goods, like gasoline, which they sell on the black market. The junior officers steal from their own troops, and the desperately poor privates cannibalize their equipment to sell on the internet. In the field, this has resulted in food and fuel-shortages, troops communicating through non-military grade radio systems, and a lack of winter clothing and boots.
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AMERICA, October 2, 2024 – The National Guard is stepping up to save their people from the death and destruction of Hurricane Helene, while awaiting outside assistance. They're supporting their people, and SOT is supporting them and their families. For a common example, one Guard member is stationed at the southern border given the problems there. Meanwhile his family has 4 feet of mud in their house and has been evacuated elsewhere. And is always the case, when they are deployed to take care of their fellow state citizens, their families encounter disruptions in their normal job paychecks which affects everything in their lives. On top of that, the economy and inflation has turned everyone's budget negative of late. Just imagine what it would be like to have your family's livelihood interrupted for a month or two while your pay scale, and frequency are reset. Eating can’t wait.
Read more: SOT IS DELIVERING EMERGENCY ASSISTANCE TO NC & TN GUARD MEMBERS AND THEIR FAMILIES
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Bujumbura, Burundi. (September 21, 2024): Americans have a special place in their hearts for the tiny country of Burundi, the poorest nation on earth according to the World Bank. In this photo by 1st Lieutenant Katherine Sibilla, Army Lieutenant Colonel Sarah Rabie, an obstetrician, lends a Burundian obstetrician a hand performing a cesarean section during a medical readiness exercise. The Army program brings U.S. and African partners together to exchange medical practices and procedures under sometimes primitive conditions. These collaborations establish long-term relationships between the participants and improves their ability to cooperate in an emergency.
The U.S. Army’s Southern European Task Force, Africa conducts these medical readiness clinics across Africa every year. U.S. Army medical units’ partner with host nation military medical providers to establish outreach clinics across Africa. This is the second of eight exercises scheduled for the African continent this year.
During the three-week exercise, twenty person teams of U.S. Army medical personnel collaborated with local doctors on a wide range of medical services, from general surgery to obstetrics. Teams of doctors, nurses, medics, and equipment specialists drawn from units across the United States offered a wide range of expertise including anesthesiology, gynecology, and emergency room procedures.
Although Burundi suffers significant poverty, they can always rely on the American people to lend a helping hand.