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Saltsburg, Pennsylvania. (May 5, 2024) Most Americans don’t know what an enormous impact the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has on the quality of the water they drink. In this photo by Michel Sauret, Andi Fitzgibbon, a water quality biologist with the Corps of Engineers Pittsburgh District, works alongside Jamie Detweiler, an aquatic biologist with the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, to collect biological samples to evaluate water quality.
Under Section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899, Congress created the Corps of Engineers to approve the construction of any structure in or over any the navigable water of the United States. This role was expanded by Section 404 of the Clean Water Act to include navigable waters, lakes, ponds, small streams, some ditches, and adjacent wetlands. They also govern waters of the United States that are man-made such as dams.
Currently, the Army Corps of Engineers is responsible for stewardship of about twelve million acres of project lands that include more than 450,000 acres of environmentally sensitive areas supporting unique ecosystems. The Corps also manages over 340 species of concern and over 47,000 cultural sites across the nation.
The Corps also plays a major role in restoring damaged ecosystems by teaming up with local environmental officials to provide funding and experts. Under the Aquatic Ecosystem Restoration program, the Corps of Engineers participates in the planning, engineering, and construction of projects to restore degraded aquatic ecosystems. The agency has a $224 million dollar budget to support cost-effect restoration efforts by local entities to restore and save vital water resources.
While most Americans may not realize it, their next glass of water will be clean thanks to the Army Corps of Engineers.
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Kadena Air Base, Japan. (April 16, 2024): For downed pilots in need of rescue, there is no better combination than the mighty Air Force HH-60G Pave Hawk and their valiant crews. In this photo by Staff Sergeant Jessi Roth, Airmen assigned to the 33rd Rescue Squadron fly the Pave Hawk, a highly modified version of the Army Black Hawk helicopter, for rescue and humanitarian missions.
Built by Sikorsky Aircraft, The Pave Hawk (Pave equals Precision Avionics Vectoring Equipment) specializes in day or night personnel recovery operations into hostile environments and civil search and rescue, medical evacuation, and disaster response during humanitarian assistance missions.
The Pave Hawk has an upgraded communications and navigation system that includes forward looking infrared radar for night operations, automatic flight control, night vision goggles, and color weather radar. It also has an engine/rotor blade anti-ice system to help operate in adverse weather. The new navigation suite includes integrated inertial navigation/global positioning/Doppler navigation, satellite communications, and secure voice communications.
In terms of armament, the Pave Hawk can more than protect itself with two crew-served 7.62mm or .50 caliber machineguns as well as a radar warning receiver, infrared jammer, and a flare/chaff countermeasure dispensing system.
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Marine Corps Air Station, Iwakuni, Japan. (May 2, 2024): As jet aircraft streak across the sky to provide close air support, troops on the ground depend on the skills of a Joint Terminal Attack Controller (JTAC) to avoid friendly fire. In this photo by Lance Corporal Brienna Tuck, Staff Sergeant Joshua Wilson, front, a joint terminal attack controller instructor with 5th Air Naval Gunfire Liaison Company, III Marine Expeditionary Force Information Group, along with Army Special Forces operators with 1st Special Forces Group, conduct simulated close air support for troops on the ground. The JTACs carefully coordinate conversations between pilots and forces on the ground to allow for targeting the enemy while avoiding friendly casualties.
The 5th Air Naval Gunfire Liaison Company (ANGLICO) is an airborne fire support unit best known for their ability to coordinate land and sea-based artillery, rockets, and naval gunfire in support of troops on the ground. These units specialize in combined arms and are experts at planning, coordinating, and delivering close air fires.
ANGLICOs date back to World War II where the American island-hopping strategy revealed a severe need to coordinate air, naval and artillery gunfire support between the Marines, Navy, Army, and other Allied forces. Today, ANGLICOs support Marine task forces around the globe.
An important distinction must be made between JTACs and Forward Air Controllers or FACs. The FACs are aviators who help plan ground operations and conduct liaison with aviation units. The JTACs, by contrast, have a ground combat arms background in addition to the ability to direct combat aircraft engaged in offensive air support operations.
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Bundase Training Camp, Ghana. (April 19, 2024) American forces joined the Ghana Armed Forces in anti-terrorism exercises this week in this West African nation. In this photo by Technical Sergeant Christopher Dyer, U.S. Special Operations Command Africa and Ghanian troops practice calling in close air support involving two U.S. Air Force B-1B Lancer bombers during Flintlock 24 exercises held here. The largest annual Special Operations Africa exercise, Flintlock 24 included approximately 1,300 servicemembers from thirty participating nations.
Ghana and the United States have long joined forces to combat terrorism and piracy in this coastal country of thirty-two million. Ghana stands out for its record of stability and peaceful elections and as a long-term partner in the war against terrorism. Ghana abuts the Gulf of Guinea, the scene of much mayhem in recent years, off the African coast. The region is beset by traditional piracy, the seizing of vessels and cargo followed by ransom demands. Besides piracy, notable crimes in the Gulf of Guinea are illegal fishing, drug trafficking, human smuggling, and stealing oil.
Confronting these threats, with U.S. help, is the Ghanian Armed Forces which consists of an infantry regiment, an airborne force, and a group of specially trained commandos. U.S. forces have historically partnered with Ghana through multiple military and civil affairs exchanges like Flintlock 24 to strengthen African capabilities to police the Gulf.
This cooperation is even more important due to democratic backsliding elsewhere in Africa and the growing threat of extremism on the continent.
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Fort Moore, Georgia. (April 27, 2024): In old war films, G.I.s are seen painting their faces with grease to hide themselves from the enemy. Today, so-called “face paint” has come a long way in terms of technology and capability. In this photo by Captain Stephanie Snyder, Captain Moberly with Alpha Company, 2nd Battalion, 58th Infantry Regiment, 198th Infantry Brigade applies camouflage paint prior to joining a field training exercise. Soldiers apply camouflage paint to their skin to disrupt the human silhouette which helps them blend into the environment.
Interestingly, the human face is the most detectable part of the body and is easily recognized at a distance. The effective use of camouflage helps break up these facial patterns by applying dark paint where light strikes the face (cheek bones and chin) and light colors where the face is shadowed (eyes). Soldiers must also ensure their neck and hands are likewise covered as the slightest movement is a dead giveaway as the light reflects off the skin.
Today’s “face paint,” however, does so much more.
Camouflage potions now shield troops in the visible and near-infrared regions of the electromagnetic spectrum as well as from thermal imaging and insects. Thermal imagers, which operate in the mid- and far-infrared regions of the spectrum, detect the heat “signature” of a combatant. These new camouflage creams minimize the risk of heat-based detection with chemicals to fool infrared sensors.
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Fort Moore, Georgia. (April 12, 2024): America’s armed forces want every servicemember to be fit to fight. That is why martial arts training that was once reserved for special operations troops is now provided to the average servicemember in a way that they can build on. In the above photo, Soldiers compete in the Lacerda Cup Combatives Championship in sparring matches that assess their courage and resiliency. The goal of the Army’s Combatives Program, a hand-to-hand combat training program that incorporates several martial art disciplines for use by the military and law enforcement.
The program is designed to build confidence through realistic training in close quarter combat techniques. Combatives draws upon the best methodology from a mix of martial arts disciplines including Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Judo, Muay Thai, and traditional Boxing. Soldiers are taught grappling, submissions, and arm and leg strikes. This ground-based fighting system teaches troops to quickly close with the enemy, gain dominance, and finish the fight.