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Kailua, Hawaii. (March 18, 2024): A victim of a motorcycle crash is alive today thanks to the quick response and cool nerves of a U.S. Marine. In this photo by Lance Corporal Logan Beeney, Lance Corporal Kayden Cardona, an aircraft maintenance support equipment electrician, is awarded the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal by his commanding officer Colonel William Heiken. Cardona is assigned to Marine Aviation Logistics Squadron 24, Marine Aircraft Group 24, 1st Marine Aircraft Wing based at Marine Corps Air Station Kaneohe Bay. An Arlington, Texas native, Cardona came upon a terrifying motorcycle accident on January 26, 2024, and his decisive efforts are credited with saving the victim’s life. Hailed as a hero by local authorities, Cardona humbly attributed his response to being in the right place at the right time.
He was commended for his remarkable courage in providing vital emergency medical care to the injured rider who was struck by a car travelling in the opposite direction. The rider was ejected from his bike and suffered significant trauma to his head and left leg. According to his citation, Cardona “without hesitation sprang into action to provide aid by using his belt to fashion a tourniquet to stop the bleeding from the rider’s injured leg.” Drawing upon his training in Tactical Combat Casualty Care (TCCC), Cardona enlisted the assistance of a nearby Marine to monitor the rider’s breathing while he continued to assess the victim for additional injuries.
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MacDill Air Force Base, Florida. (March 19, 2024): The Air Force is evaluating a sentry that doesn’t tire, never sleeps, needs no food, and it can talk. In this photo by Senior Airman Zachary Foster, representatives of Asylon, a robotic perimeter security company, lead a robotic dog in a capabilities demonstration for Air Force security forces. The demonstration showcased this emerging technology in remotely operated security systems that allow for immediate response in emergency situations without endangering the life of servicemembers.
Essentially a camera on legs, the “dogs” are technically called quadruped unmanned ground vehicles. Costing as much as half a million dollars per unit, they function as an extra set of eyes for base security officers that can also listen and communicate with suspected intruders. Funded through a small business innovation research program called the AFWERX initiative, these quadrupeds weigh approximately a hundred pounds and have a top speed of seven miles per hour. They can travel a distance of thirteen miles at a top speed of seven miles per hour for up to three hours on a single charge.
They can also be outfitted with drones that can launch and return to their backs while in motion, allowing the drones and dogs to perform missions as an integrated team. Future plans include equipping them with sensors that allow them to operate autonomously without human intervention. These dog/drone teams will become the ultimate platform for security patrol operations in the future.
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Narvik, Norway. (March 21, 2024): In this photo by Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Jahlena Riveraroyer, Seaman Apprentice Tara Reed directs an aircraft during flight quarters aboard the USS Paul Ignatius while participating in Steadfast Defender, the largest NATO military exercise since World War II. Homeported in Rota Spain, she is named for Paul Ignatius who served as United States Secretary of the Navy under President Lyndon Johnson from 1967 to 1969.
The Ignatius worked alongside more than fifty ships and eighty aircraft from NATO navies conducting a variety of training scenarios to enhance their ability to reinforce the alliance in wartime. Steadfast Defender is based on a hypothetical aggression by a power or adversary against a NATO member country. Under Article 5 of the NATO treaty, any military action taken against a member state is considered an attack on all member countries who are obliged to come to its defense. The war games involved approximately 90,000 troops from all 32 NATO Allies working together to evaluate and refine plans for reinforcing European defenses.
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Everyone who has ever served in the armed forces remembers the shock, both physically and psychologically, experienced in the first days of Basic Training. In this photo by Sergeant Lianne Hirano, Sergeant Shelby Lewis, a flight engineer assigned to Company B, 2nd Battalion, 211th Aviation Regiment, 103rd Troop Command, Hawaii Army National Guard, conducts flight operations as part of the Recruit Sustainment Program. In an effort to lessen the “shock & awe” of Basic for new recruits, this multi-phase program gives new recruits vital information and physical training to prepare them for Basic Training.
The Hawaii National Guard operates a Regional Training Institute at Waimanalo, Hawaii, that primarily focuses on ensuring these new recruits are “mentally prepared, administratively correct, and physically ready” to successfully complete basic training. The training begins with issuance of the Army’s “Blue Book” ; a comprehensive guide to help get recruits comfortable with the military terminology and the protocols expected of them. The book also includes information on the Army’s core values, rank structure, courtesies, and customs. Recruits are taught military time, the phonetic alphabet, and the “Soldiers Creed”. The goal is to acquaint recruits with the knowledge they will need to navigate life in the military before they ship off to basic training.
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Red Sea. (March 5, 2024): For the Sailors and Marines of the Eisenhour Aircraft Carrier Strike Group, the past four months have been spent at sea defending against ballistic missiles and flying attack drones fired by Iranian-backed Houthis from Yemen. In this photo by AE3 Lauren Duval, a “shooter” signals the launch of an F/A-18 Super Hornet from the famous “Fighting Swordsmen” of Strike Fighter Squadron 32 from the flight deck. The Strike Group has been on patrol in the Middle East since November with some of its ships having been on location since October.
As of Wednesday, the strike group — which includes the cruiser USS Philippine Sea, the destroyers USS Mason, Gravely, and Laboon conducted more than 95 intercepts of drones, anti-ship ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, and made more than 240 self-defense strikes on more than 50 Houthi targets in Yemen.
The latest threat is fast unmanned vessels that are fired through the water and are remote controlled by the enemy. These unmanned bombs are difficult to detect and defeat, especially at night.
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Mediterranean Sea. (March 15, 2024): When the Navy wants to look over the horizon, it sends out the V-BAT. In this photo by Marine Corporal Rafael Brambila-Pelayo, a V-BAT uncrewed aerial system launches from the dock landing ship USS Carter Hall to become the ship’s “eye in the sky”.
This unique drone gives situational awareness to commanders who use it for surveillance and intelligence gathering. It’s light weight (125 lbs.) which allows the system to be deployed by a 2-person team and packs up to fit in the back of a pickup truck. The system deploys quickly, going from package to flight in under twenty minutes.
Nine feet long with a ten-foot wingspan, the V-Bat can travel up to 56 mph for up to ten hours with a ceiling of 20,000 feet. What makes the unit remarkable are its electro-optical (EO)/mid-wave infrared (MWIR) cameras that provide long-range imaging abilities, image stabilization, and high-speed thermal imaging. The V-BAT can also transmit real-time video and imagery to its control station via a data link.