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Knoxville, Tennessee. (May 5, 2023): An outing in the wilderness nearly turned tragic for a hunter if it were not for the skill and bravery of a Tennessee Army National Guard Black Hawk helicopter crew. In the photo above, Crew Chief Sgt. Nicholas Kannard prepares to lower flight medic Sgt. 1st Class Tracy Banta to rescue the injured hunter who desperately needed medical attention.
The call came into the Tennessee Military Department and Emergency Management Agency that a person with severe leg injuries needed rescue from a rugged and remote area of the Cherokee National Forest. The 230th Assault Helicopter Battalion of the Tennessee National Guard sprang into action. Flying the versatile UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter, the aircrew arrived at the rescue site within 20 minutes.
The flight crew consisted of two pilots, Capt. Brandon Rodriguez and Chief Warrant Officer 3 Daniel Backus, crew chief Sgt. Nicholas Kannard and two flight paramedics, Sgt. 1st Class Nolan Ogle and Sgt. 1st Class Tracy Banta.
The crew chief, Kannard, lowered flight medic Sgt. Banta to the ground to assess the patient and prepare him for airlift. The patient and Banta were hoisted into the Blackhawk hovering above where additional medical treatment was provided. The rescue took just 13 minutes. Once everyone was safely on board, the aircraft flew to the University of Tennessee Medical Center in Knoxville. The entire rescue mission took less than an hour and a half.
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National Training Center, California. (May 3, 2023): In this photo by Lance Corporal Alex Devereux, Marine Corporal Bryce T. Hubbard, a UH-1Y Venom Crew Chief with Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron 367 observes his surroundings during a training flight during NTC Rotation 23-07. During the exercise, Squadron 367 supported the U.S. Army 75th Ranger Regiment and the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment as the sole rotary wing fire support element for long range assault force escort, close air support, and direct-action raids.
The Venom is one of the newest Marine Corps aircraft to replace the veritable UH-1N Huey which was first introduced in the 1970s. Manufactured by Bell Helicopters, the Venom provides command & control and assault support under day/night and adverse weather conditions. It can reach speeds approaching 190 mph and has a combat range of 130 miles. The Venom sports twin 70mm rocket launchers along with dual mounts for a variety of machine guns including the deadly GAU-17/A gatling gun.
Squadron 367 was commissioned during World War II and participated in combat operations on Peleliu and Okinawa. Reactivated during the Vietnam War, the squadron has served in every American conflict since. These highly skilled crews provide Marine Corps support to our nation’s most elite helicopter and special operations forces.
The 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment, also known as the “Night Stalkers”, are assigned America’s toughest missions in all environments anywhere in the world. They are most famous for their role in the successful mission to capture and kill Osama Bin Laden.
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In this photo by Kristen Wong, Airman 1st Class Stephen Souza of the U.S. Air Force Honor Guard Drill Team tosses his rifle during a performance at the Joint Services Drill Exhibition at the Washington Monument in Washington, D.C. The team is an elite unit of 25 Airmen who train for up to eight to 10 hours per day, five days a week, to obtain their level of mastery.
Drill and ceremony is a military tradition dating back to our War for Independence in 1778. It was during that terrible winter at Valley Forge when George Washington and his exhausted troops, out of food, clothing, and medical supplies, began to see a breakdown of discipline.
Enter German Baron Friedrich von Stueben, an officer in the Prussian Army and a major general in the Continental Army from 1778-84. Baron von Steuben instituted military drill as part of a training program to improve discipline and organization of soldiers in the Continental Army. Von Stueben drew lessons from the ancient Romans who developed the first concept of drill by training troops on a task until it became second nature. Drill and ceremony made soldiers aware of their movements, to practice drills to ultimate precision, and to work together as a team.
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Holloman Air Force Base, New Mexico. (April 17, 2023): In this photo by Airman 1st Class Isaiah Pedrazzini, Col. Justin Spears, 49th Wing commander, introduces his dog, Blue, to a Vision 60 Q-UGV ground robot, a quadrupedal “Dog” capable of maneuvering through rough terrain making it perfect for patrolling Holloman AFB’s arid environment. In all fairness to Blue, the Vision 60 has a lot of built-in advantages over man’s best friend.
The Vision 60 Q-UGV is a mid-sized, high-endurance, agile, and durable all-weather ground robot for use in a broad range of urban and natural environments. The U.S. military has been aggressively deploying these robotic sentries for defense, homeland security, and traditional public safety applications. Unlike a real dog, the Vision 60 can operate at full speed for over three hours and remain on standby for 21 more while still running its onboard computers, sensors, and radio communications.
Using built-in RGB color recognition and depth sensors, the Vision 60 can traverse any terrain that is navigable by humans. This hound uses this “situational awareness” to negotiate obstacles that would have caused previous designs to “freeze resulting in the robot having to end its mission.
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Camp Pendleton, California. (April 15, 2023): In this photo by Corporal Cameron Hermanet, U.S. Marines with 2nd Platoon, Charlie Company, 1st Reconnaissance Battalion, 1st Marine Division and members of the 2nd Intai Amfibi Battalion of the Indonesian Korps Marinir paddle back to shore on a combat rubber craft during a recon exercise at Camp Pendleton. The Marines host this annual exercise to foster greater cooperation and mutual respect between American and Indonesian forces and to share cultural experiences. Just as the Marines are America’s best, these elite reconnaissance troops represent the cream of the armed forces of Indonesia.
Nicknamed the "Sea Ghosts" due to their deadly capabilities as seaborne infantry, the Amfibi have skills far above the average ordinary soldier. When the Indonesian Marine Corps was established in 1961, the nation had no naval reconnaissance capability and saw a clear need for a special force trained in special activities that cannot be done by ordinary units. Indonesia established its own Amphibious Reconnaissance Commando Unit to combine airborne and amphibious skills into one capable force.
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“Life aboard a warship is filled with hazards unique to the Navy.”
Philippine Sea. (May 4, 2023): So long as there are sailors at sea, there will always be a need for a few brave souls willing to risk their lives to do damage control in an emergency. In this photo by MC2 Caitlin Flynn, Sailors operate a firehose during a damage control training exercise aboard the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz while under routine operations. These sailors confront the inherent dangers of working aboard warships, from explosives to biological hazards, which often puts them in harm’s way.
The Damage Control specialist must know how to respond quickly to explosions, fires, and chemical, biological, and radiological threats. Sailors are trained in first aid, fire suppression techniques, and emergency equipment repair. After Basic Training, Damage Controlmen attend the Basic Engineering Common Core course at Great Lakes, Illinois where they study firefighting, shipboard damage control, ventilation systems, and emergency breathing systems.
Upon graduation, Damage Controlmen can expect to be stationed on nearly every type of vessel operating anywhere in the world. As the first responders for the fleet, Damage Controlmen operate around the clock to keep their fellow Sailors safe.