Unfair Advantage
February 26th, 2012 | From the Ranks | Posted by Mike Morones
Staff Sgt. Elijah Bowser, a Marine with Combat Logistics Battalion 31, 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, arm wrestles a Thai boy during a visit to a child protection and development center here, Feb. 22. Marines and Sailors cultivated land around the center for the children to use as gardens. The event comes at the conclusion of exercise Cobra Gold 2012. (CPL Garry J Welch/USMC)
HALO Exercise
February 25th, 2012 | From the Ranks | Posted by Mike Morones
A U.S. Air Force jumpmaster practicing a high-altitude, low-opening jump from a C-130 Hercules aircraft lands on the ground during a joint operational access exercise (JOAX) at Pope Field, N.C., Feb. 9, 2012. A JOAX is a joint airdrop exercise designed to enhance service cohesiveness between U.S. Army and Air Force personnel, allowing both services an opportunity to properly execute large-scale heavy equipment and troop movement. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Melissa Goslin)
Incoming
February 25th, 2012 | From the Ranks | Posted by Mike Morones
PAKTYA PROVINCE, Afghanistan - U.S. Air Force Capt. Tyler Johnson, from San Antonio, Texas, who is a lead engineer for the Paktya Provincial Reconstruction Team, Task Force Spartan, flings a snowball during an epic snowball fight with Paratroopers of the 509th Infantry Regiment on Forward Operating Base Gardez Feb. 20. (U.S. Army photo by Spc. Ken Scar, 7th MPAD)
Honoring the Fallen
February 25th, 2012 | From the Ranks | Posted by Alan Lessig
ARABIAN SEA: A Battalion Landing Team 3/1 rifle detail fires a salute at a Feb. 17 memorial service aboard USS Makin Island honoring corpsman Petty Officer 3rd Class Kyler L. Estrada, who died in a Djibouti training accident Feb. 14. Estrada, who served with the landing team’s Company I, was 21 and a native of Maricopa, Ariz. “Doc died in the company of his brothers,” said company commander Capt. Matt McGirr. The landing team is the ground combat element for the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit, deployed as part of the Makin Island Amphibious Ready Group to the U.S. Fifth Fleet area of responsibility. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Gunnery Sgt. Scott Dunn)
Vinson Flight Deck After Dark
February 24th, 2012 | From the Ranks | Posted by Mike Morones
ARABIAN GULF (Feb. 22, 2012) Aviation Boatswain’s Mate (Equipment) 2nd Class Blas Manzanares, assigned to the Air Department aboard the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70), shows his hands are clear of the control panel as he launches an F/A-18C Hornet while operating the waist catapults. Carl Vinson and Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 17 are deployed to the U.S. 5th Fleet area of responsibility. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class James R. Evans)
173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team
February 24th, 2012 | From the Ranks Photography | Posted by Alan Lessig
A U.S. Air Force C-130J Super Hercules, assigned to the 37th Airlift Squadron at Ramstein Air Base, Germany, conducts a mass airdrop of paratroopers from the U.S. Army’s 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team, out of Vicenza, Italy, Feb. 10, 2012. More than 300 paratroopers were dropped to commemorate 70 years of combat airlift abilities for the 37th AS. (U.S. Air Force photo/Airman 1st Class Holly Cook)
Josue Barron: Darkhorse Pride at Marine Corps Trials
February 21st, 2012 | Photography | Posted by Mike Morones
Cpl. Josue Barron lost his left leg and left eye in an improvised explosive device blast, Oct. 21, 2010. But he will never forget where he came from or who he is: a member of 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment … the Darkhorse Battalion. It is this pride that drives him to excel as he competes against other Wounded Warriors in the 2012 Marine Corps Trials. Barron is from Cudahy, Calif. (Sgt. Mark Fayloga/USMC)
Sgt. Mark Fayloga has been moving a nice selection of images from the 2012 Marine Corps Trials at Camp Pendleton, including this stunning photo from swim practice. I was struck by his portraits of Cpl Barron, particularly the second photo of his legs. Stay tuned for more of Sgt. Fayloga’s work from the Trials. -Mike
Ship Formation
February 19th, 2012 | From the Ranks | Posted by Alan Lessig
PACIFIC OCEAN (Feb. 14, 2012) Ships from the John C. Stennis Carrier Strike Group transit the Pacific Ocean during a photo exercise. The John C. Stennis Carrier Strike Group is operating in the U.S. 3rd Fleet area of responsibility while on a seven-month deployment. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Kenneth Abbate/Released)
Drinking Cobra Blood
February 18th, 2012 | The Wires | Posted by Alan Lessig
A US Marine drinks cobra blood during a jungle survival program as part of the annual Cobra Gold 2012 combined military exercise at a navy base in Sattahip on February 13, 2012. About 13,000 military personnel from seven nations, South Korea, Indonesia, Thailand, US, Singapore, Japan and Malaysia are involved in the exercise ending on February 17. (PORNCHAI KITTIWONGSAKUL/AFP/Getty Images)
Unconditional Surrender Statue
February 17th, 2012 | The Wires | Posted by Alan Lessig
The statue entitled Unconditional Surrender stands tall in the parkway along the waterfront Monday, Feb. 13, 2012 in San Diego. The statue, which was modeled after a photograph by Alfred Eisenstaedt taken in Times Square on V-J Day at the end of World War II, is schedule to be moved at the end of the month. (AP Photo/Lenny Ignelzi)