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Asan, Guam. (January 26, 2023): In this photo by Lance Corporal Garrett Gillesie, the Honorable Meredith Berger, Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Energy, Installations and Environment, speaks at the Marine Corps Base Camp Blaz Reactivation and Naming Ceremony at Asan Beach, Guam. The ceremony officially recognizes the rebirth of Naval Support Activity Camp Blaz after the Marine Barracks was deactivated in 1992. Named after the late Brig. Gen. Vicente “Ben” Thomas Garrido Blaz, the first CHamoru Marine to attain the rank of general officer, Camp Blaz represents a renewed commitment to the people of Guam and the defense of the Indo-Pacific. The CHamoru are the indigenous people of the Mariana Islands, politically divided between the United States territory of Guam.
The ceremony included a joint ship display including Guam’s fast cutters, the U.S. Coast Guard cutters Myrtle Hazard and the Frederick Hatch.
The U.S. Coast Guard and the U.S. Marine Corps have a history of cooperation dating back nearly 80 years when Coast Guard members drove the landing craft that brought the III Amphibious Corps ashore in 1944 to retake Guam from Imperial Japanese Forces in World War II. When Marines first landed on Guam during the Spanish-American War, they established Marine Barracks Guam in the village of Sumay, thus beginning a century-long relationship that continues today with the activation of Marine Corps Base Camp Blaz.
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Fort McCoy, Wisconsin. (January 19, 2023): In this photo by Scott T. Sturkol, Airmen with Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve security forces units learn to build an Arctic 10-person tent during a 16-day Cold-Weather Operations Course at Fort McCoy, Wisconsin. More than 50 Airmen from across the Air Force are participating in the event to learn how to survive in arctic conditions. Airmen practiced using snowshoes and moving as a squad over deep snow. The Airmen built cold-weather shelters, practiced survival techniques, and how to properly wear cold-weather gear.
The Cold Weather Operations Course is a 2-week class held 6 times a year at Fort McCoy and is modeled after a similar program taught by the Army Northern Warfare Training Center at Black Rapids, Alaska. Each class begins in the classroom studying survival techniques followed by 14 days practice in the field under frozen conditions.
Read more: Against the cold… AIR FORCE TRAINS LIKE IT’S THE BATTLE OF THE BULGE
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Prince Sultan Air Base, Saudi Arabia. (January 21, 2023): In this photo by Senior Airman Stephani Barge, U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Jordan Courtney, a K-9 handler with the 378th Expeditionary Security Forces Squadron, sensitizes working dog Mirco to gunfire. K-9 Defenders and their handlers are required to train together around live fire to ensure the dogs can handle the stress of combat.
Military working dogs have accompanied soldiers into battle since ancient times because of their loyalty, intelligence, and trainability. The dogs train for 90-120 days to become certified in bite work, bomb, and drug detection. According to Health.mil, over 4000 military working dogs have been injured during combat operations since 1980 and the U.S. Army Veterinary Corps has established a trauma registry to record these animal’s treatments, injuries, and deaths.
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Israel. (January 23, 2023): In this photo by Specialist David Campos-Contreras, a Soldier with 2nd Battalion, 130th Field Artillery Regiment, Task Force Spartan, communicates with Soldiers from his battalion through hand signals from the air guard hatch of their High Mobility Rocket Artillery System. The Americans and the Israeli Armed Forces joined forces during exercise Juniper Oak 2023, a large-scale bilateral military exercise to build teamwork among U.S. and Israeli forces.
This year, American forces trained their Israeli counterparts on the now world-famous High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) system now being employed with significant effect in Ukraine.
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Philippine Sea. (January 25, 2023): In this photo by Lance Cpl. William Wallace, U.S. Navy Lt. Catherine Cloetta, a triage officer, and U.S. Marine Corps Cpl. Angel Marmolejo, a radio system operator, both with the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU), coordinate an extraction during a ship to shore casualty care exercise at Camp Hansen, Okinawa, Japan. The training simulated a real-life mass casualty incident to test readiness and to improve response times. The 31st MEU is operating aboard ships of USS America Amphibious Ready Group in the 7th fleet area of operations.
A mass casualty event, by nature, is chaotic. These exercises allow Marines to practice keeping their nerves under control while dealing with dozens of emergency situations at once.
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Coast Guard Air Station, New Orleans, LA. (January 26,2023): In this photo by Petty Officer First Class Gabriel Wisdom, rescue swimmer Petty Officer 2nd Class Richard Hoefle is lowered from an MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter by Petty Officer 2nd Class Hunter Simpson, a flight mechanic at Air Station New Orleans. The Coast Guard launched this MH-60 aircrew from Naval Air Station Joint Reserve on missions that included a flyover of New Orleans and emergency landing and hoist training. Every branch of America’s military has a “rescue swimmer” program, but the Coast Guard is unique due to the constant stream of real-life emergencies it faces every day, from rescuing civilians in a hurricane to conducting search and operations rescues far out at sea.
Becoming a U.S. Coast Guard Rescue Swimmer is considered by many to be one of the hardest things one can do in the service. The schooling and physical training are some of the most demanding you will find in any branch of the U.S. Military.
Coast Guard Rescue Swimmers have been called upon in natural disasters like hurricanes and flooding. They routinely handle extreme rescue situations in high seas often involving frantic civilians. A rescue swimmer needs physical strength and endurance, and the mental toughness to ignore their personal safety to save others.
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