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Garden Island, Australia (February 27, 2023): In this photo courtesy of the Australia Department of Defense, Sailors assigned to the Los Angeles-class fast-attack submarine USS Asheville salute the national ensign after arriving at Royal Australian Navy Stirling Naval Base. Sailors volunteer to serve aboard America’s submarine fleet, an undersea world of cramped spaces, no sense of time, and shared bunks in a 24 hour a day operation. Aboard the Asheville, Sailors spend six months at sea with each deployment and must endure constant shift work while working at incredibly close quarters with their comrades. Life beneath the waves has certain unwritten rules of behavior to keep the peace on long voyages. The primary rule is avoid making loud noises, such as slamming hatchway doors, which is strictly forbidden as someone is always sleeping.
As one can imagine, space aboard a submarine is extremely limited. One third of the vessel contains the nuclear powerplant leaving precious little room for the crew who will spend six months trying to get along with their fellow Sailors. Every space is designed for multiple uses and sleeping space is at a premium. In fact, a sub has more Sailors than beds which means shared bunks and rotating sleep cycles around the clock.
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Washington, D.C. (March 2, 2023): In this photo by Corporal Tanner Lambert, Lance Corporal Justin Shevlin folds the U.S. flag during a funeral for repatriated Marine Corporal Thomas H. Cooper who was killed on the Tarawa Atoll of the Gilbert Islands during World War II.
Corporal Cooper, 22, from Chattanooga, Tennessee, was a member of A Company, 2nd Amphibious Tractor Battalion, 2nd Marine Division which landed against stiff Japanese resistance in this famous battle.
Over several days of intense fighting, approximately 1,000 Marines and Sailors were killed and more than 2,000 were wounded while the Japanese were virtually annihilated. Cooper died on the first day of the battle and was reportedly buried on Betio Island. Despite the heavy casualties suffered by U.S. forces, success in the battle of Tarawa was a huge victory for the U.S. military in the Central Pacific Campaign against Japan.
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ALBANIA (February 22, 2023): In this photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Novalee Manzella, Spanish Marines climb aboard a U.S. Navy MH-60S Sea Hawk helicopter during interoperability training in Albania. Carrier Air Wing 7, the offensive attack component of the George H.W. Bush Carrier Strike Group, is on a scheduled deployment of the U.S. Sixth Fleet to defend U.S. and allied partner interests. Naval Forces Europe consists of six nuclear-powered aircraft carriers, 54 aircraft squadrons, 1,200 aircraft, and 43,000 officers, enlisted and civilian personnel based on the East Coast of the United States.
The Spanish troops are part of the U.S. Navy’s “Stronger Together” campaign to integrate allied ships and aircraft in the Mediterranean. The Spanish and American Navies share many historical and cultural ties and a commitment to the defense of the citizens and territories of NATO Allies.
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San Diego, California. (March 1, 2023): In this photo by Lance Corporal Jacob B. Hutchinson, U.S. Marine Corps Recruit Levi Castleman with Golf Company, 2nd Recruit Training Battalion, receives his buzz haircut at Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego. Recruits receive haircuts weekly during basic training to maintain a uniform appearance and promote good hygiene throughout recruit training. Castleman was recruited out of Amarillo, TX, with Recruiting Station Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Commentary:
It has been 47 years but I can still remember the feel of my just shaved noggin, prickly and strange, as I piled out of the barber’s chair during Basic Combat Training at Fort Knox, Kentucky. I remember stepping outside and not recognizing any of the soldiers who I swear rode with me on the bus from Miami.
The shaving of heads is a military tradition, not just for hygiene reasons, for every recruit (except women) since the earliest days of our republic. Other than keeping things uniform, the shearing of locks accomplishes the very important goal of eliminating the “individual” among the troops.
Every recruit arrives at basic training with their own sense of self importance and ego as individuals, not as members of a team. The military deliberately breaks down these cultural, racial, and financial differences by ensuring every trainee looks (and acts) like everyone else.
The goal here is to break a person down to their essence and strip them of unearned pride and the tendency to “look out for oneself”. No matter what their background, military recruits are affectionately called “maggots”, the lowest form of life, to remind them that without their buddies they will not survive in combat. Once that lesson has been absorbed, the military proceeds to rebuild these trainees in the military image. While initially unsettling, the “levelling” of recruits (including spartan haircuts) is an essential part of turning civilians into warfighters.
By Jim Spearing
SSgt. (Ret).
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Micronesia. (February 14, 2023): In this photo by Tech Sergeant Jao’Torey Johnson, U.S. Air Force Capt. Shailey Dao, a flight nurse, receives in-flight contingency response training from a Royal Australian Air Force service member while aboard a C-27J Spartan during exercise Cope North 2023.
Often called “flying angels”, military flight nurses are credited with saving countless lives that otherwise would be lost without their skill and dedication. When injured Airmen need to be transported, medical care continues enroute to more advanced medical care by members of the aeromedical evacuation team.
It is the responsibility of Air Force Flight Nurses to provide emergency lifesaving and prehospital care, from planning a mission to final deplaning at the hospital. During flight, these nurses us their assessment skills to advise waiting ground medical staff of the situation so they can get a jump on needed treatment.
To be a military flight nurse, candidates must have a bachelor’s degree from an accredited nursing school and have at least one year clinical experience in acute care.
Cope North 2023 involved air force units from Australia, Japan, and the United States launching aircraft from airfields on Guam, the Marianas, and Palau in the Western Pacific. The exercise gives these forces the chance to rehearse and refine a range of missions they may face in the real world, including humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, and agile combat employment operations.
The Royal Air Force deployed elements of its Combat Support Group including contingency response and health and security forces. These elements integrated with the United States Air Force and Japan Air Self Defense Force counterparts with a focus on improving interoperability and establishing airbases at multiple locations simultaneously.
The exercise also focused on developing agile combat employment tactics, techniques, and procedures to ensure air power can be employed when and where it is required.
This year was the 13th time Australia has taken part in Exercise Cope North.
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Andersen Air Force Base, Guam. (February 9, 2023): In this photo by Senior Airman Christa Anderson, U.S. Air Force aircraft maintenance personnel assigned to the 119th Wing position an MQ-9 Reaper drone onto jacks to prepare for landing. Placing the bird onto jacks allows the landing gear to wind down into place so maintainers can begin the assembly process. The Reaper is a remotely piloted, armed, medium altitude drone built by General Atomics Aeronautical Systems that can remain airborne for up to 27 hours.
The MQ-9 is a larger, heavier, and more capable aircraft than the earlier General Atomics MQ-1 Predator and can be controlled by the same ground systems. The Reaper has a 950-horsepower turboprop engine that can achieve speeds of 240 mph and can operate at up to 50,000 feet with a 3,850-pound payload. The Reaper can carry up to four Hellfire II anti-armor missiles and two laser-guided 500-pound bombs. It also serves as a long-endurance, persistent surveillance platform that includes electro-optical/Infrared Lynx® Multi-mode Radar, multi-mode maritime surveillance radar, laser designators, and various weapons and payload packages.