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Okinawa, Japan. (January 21): In this photo by Petty Officer 1st Class Austin Ingram, Seabees with Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 3 (NMCB3) show off their construction skills while building bunkers. Based at Port Hueneme, California, NMCB3 can trace its heritage to the early days of World War II. At that time, the Navy needed construction workers to build advance bases in combat zones, likely under enemy fire. The Navy created four Construction Battalions or “CBs” (hence the nickname "Seabees") to build roads, airfields, barracks, and medical facilities.
At the start of the war, senior construction personnel were hired who were willing to adapt their civilian skills to military needs. As such, they were given more latitude to innovate and adapt their approaches to military chores which drew some teasing from by-the-book Marines. By war’s end, these legendary construction workers had built four hundred bases in the Atlantic and Pacific theaters and their efforts were vital to allied victory.
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Setermoen, Norway. (January 17, 2025): One of the founding members of NATO, Norway will once again host U.S. Marines and other allies in Exercise Joint Viking 2025 scheduled for March. In this photo by Lance Corporal Christian Salazar, Marines maneuver with their Norwegian counterparts as they prepare for the bi-annual event. The exercise will involve cold-weather combat operations focusing on small-unit tactics and defensive operations in extreme environments.
The II Marine Expeditionary Force deployed from Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, in January to acclimate to the harsh Nordic environment and terrain. The Army will be sending the 41st Field Artillery Brigade, a HIMARs unit, to Norway in the spring. Troops from the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Germany, and Finland will also participate.
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Grafenwoehr, Germany. (January 19, 2025): It is impossible to recreate actual combat, but the Army has come “electronically” close. In this photo by Markus Rauchenberger, Soldiers assigned to the Regimental Engineer Squadron, 2nd Cavalry Regiment, hone their marksmanship skills in the comfortable surroundings of an Engagement Skills Trainer (EST).
The EST is an extremely realistic simulator that allows Soldiers to practice their marksmanship skills in a series of customized combat scenarios, and much more.
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Nutekpor, Ghana. (January 19, 2025): The Navy’s 22nd Construction Regiment has been busy improving the lives of children living in the tiny village of Galotse in this West African nation. In this photo by Chief Petty Officer Justin Stumberg, Senior Chief Gabriel Miller, Builder 2nd Class Matthew Santini, and Lieutenant Joseph Beasley inspect a new three-room schoolhouse, just one of many of their civil engineering projects this year.
Ghana is one of the poorest countries in the world with twenty four percent of its population, or about 6.9 million people, living on less than $2.15 a day. This is particularly true in rural villages where eighty percent of poverty is concentrated. According to the U.N. Human Development Index, Ghana is ranked 140 out of 189 poorest countries in the world.
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Melrose Air Force Range, New Mexico. (January 16, 2025): On January 3, 2020, President Donald Trump ordered an airstrike that killed Iranian General Qassem Soleimani as he and other Iran-backed leaders were leaving the Baghdad airport. President Trump declared him "directly and indirectly responsible for the deaths of millions of people". The strike underscored America’s promise to terrorists everywhere, no one escapes the Reaper.
In this photo by Airman 1st Class Gracelyn Hess, an MQ-9 Reaper flown by the elite 1st Special Operations Wing rests on a dirt strip at sunset following a successful landing. Developed by General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, the Reaper is the first “hunter-killer” drone equipped with the latest U.S. air-to-ground weaponry. Originally designed for high-altitude surveillance, the Reaper has been upgraded to carry four Hellfire missiles plus two laser-guided 500-pound bombs.
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Moreno Valley, California. (January 21, 2025): As the wildfires continue to roar across southern California, members of the Army National Guard and the Marines have joined Air Force firefighters battling the blazes outside Los Angeles. In this photo by Captain Johnny Chau, firefighters from March Air Reserve Base assist in fire suppression by locating and extinguishing residual fires and “hot spots” that might reignite.
Currently, there are over 1,800 California National Guardsmen, up over a thousand since last week, who are assisting firefighters and maintaining order. Military Police units have bolstered local law enforcement efforts to control traffic and prevent looting. Meanwhile, five hundred active-duty Marines stationed at Camp Pendleton along with ten Navy helicopters equipped with water delivery buckets have joined the relief efforts. Following up from last week, the Air National Guard flew six more flights during the weekend, dropping more than 16,000 gallons of fire suppressant.