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Biloxi, Mississippi. (May 22, 2023): In this photo by Master Sgt. Eric Burks, Colonel Jason Allen, Vice Commander of the 81st Training Wing, administers the oath of enlistment to trainees recruited from the local area at a Biloxi Shuckers baseball game at MGM Park. The trainees are currently in the Delayed Entry Program awaiting their Basic Military Training ship date.
Unfortunately, these fledgling recruits are the exception lately as fewer and fewer young Americans are considering the U.S. military as a career. The trend has caused the Army to miss its recruiting goal by 15,000 active-duty soldiers, or 25 percent, last year. As a result, the Army is cutting its active-duty strength from 476,000 to 466,000 and prospects for next year remain grim. The Army is our nation’s largest land force whose missions are increasing in Europe and the Pacific while its workforce is being reduced by as much as 7 percent.
What accounts for the lessening of interest in military service?
First is the economy. Unemployment is low right now which always makes it harder to recruit new talent into our armed forces. The labor market is extremely tight, which has caused the private sector to increase wages and offer generous incentives to attract the best talent. The U.S. military is struggling to compete for the best and brightest. In short, young folks have options and their willingness to consider military service has plummeted from 13 percent before the pandemic to just 9 percent last year.
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Twentynine Palms, California. (May 23, 2023): In this photo by Lance Corporal Isaac Cantrell, Marines render a rifle salute at the funeral ceremony of retired Sergeant Major Ray V. Wilburn to honor his 32 years of honorable and faithful service to the United States Marine Corps. SGM Wilburn took part in World War II, the Korean War, and the Viet Nam War.
America has rendered military honors for veterans like these since the founding of the Republic. This ceremony typically involves two or more uniformed service members folding and presenting a U.S. burial flag to the family and the playing of Taps. A three-volley gun salute by a rifle squad is reserved for veterans who were either retired from military service, service members killed on active duty, or Medal of Honor recipients.
The veteran’s casket is draped with an American flag to honor the memory of their service to their country. The ceremonial folding and presentation of that flag is a moving tribute for a veteran’s family and friends and is followed by the playing of Taps.
A properly proportioned flag will fold thirteen times on the triangles, representing the thirteen original colonies. The folded flag is emblematic of the tricorn hat worn by the patriots of the American Revolution. It is then presented as a keepsake to the next of kin or a close friend or associate of the deceased veteran if there is no next of kin.
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Washington, D.C. (May 24, 2023): In this photo by Sgt. Paige Behringer, Soldiers of 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment, “The Old Guard,” Fife and Drum Corps march down Pennsylvania Avenue during the 58th Presidential Inauguration. The 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment is the oldest regiment in the Regular United States Army and is best-known for its ceremonial duties at Arlington National Cemetery.
Since 1948, the 3rd Infantry has provided funeral support to Arlington National Cemetery including round-the-clock guarding of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and ceremonial support to the Military District of Washington. The unit guards the Tomb of Unknown Soldiers from World War II, Korea, and Vietnam all day, every day, in every kind of weather.
The Old Guard Fife and Drum Corps is the only unit of its kind in the armed forces whose musicians wear uniforms patterned after those worn during the American Revolution. The uniforms date to 1784 and consist of black tricorn hats, white wigs, waistcoats, colonial coveralls, and distinct red regimental coats.
The 3rd Infantry also fields the Continental Color Guard, a precision drill team whose mission is to showcase the U.S. army’s precision nationally and internationally. The five-person unit is comprised of two armed Guards and three-color ensigns who carry the National Colors, the U.S. Army Color, and the Color of their parent unit.
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Camp Pendleton, California. (March 23, 2023): In this photo by Lance Corporal Juan Torres, Marisa Borzoni, the life partner of retired Marine Lt. Col. Clark Henry, spreads his ashes in the sea as part of his Memorial Services held here recently. Henry enlisted in the Corps during World War II, received a field commission during the Korean War, and received the Silver Star for his service in the Viet Nam War.
The ritual spreading of the ashes of the deceased dates to the ancient Greeks who customarily scattered a small amount of the cremated remains across the ground as a memorial service to the departed.
The Hindus, who have a long and honored tradition of scattering the ashes of loved ones, believe one’s salvation (nirvana) is achieved when their ashes are spread into the sacred river Ganges.
Some Christian communities connect scattering ashes with Genesis 3:19 which holds that "for dust you are, and to dust you will return."
Americans are familiar with the tributes to the fallen performed each Memorial Day, but other nations have their own practices and customs when it comes to honoring their war dead. In France, Armistice Day is observed with a moment of silence at 11 a.m. on the 11th day of the 11th month — Nov. 11, which is Veterans Day in the United States.
The day is full of ceremonies, special church services, and everything is adorned with poppy flowers. The holiday originally commemorated the 1.4 million people killed during World War I but has come to include all French citizens lost to armed conflict.
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Royal Air Force Base Amberley, Queensland, Australia. (May 6, 2023): In this photo by Senior Airman Makenzie Cooper, U.S. Air Force Technical Sgt. Joseph Hoffman, an Advanced Instructor Course loadmaster with the 535th Airlift Squadron, sits on the ramp of a C-17 Globemaster III during a training flight over Australia during exercise Global Dexterity 23-1, This is the sixth exercise between the U.S. Air Force and its Indo-Pacific partners that has taken on greater urgency given the current political situation.
Global Dexterity is a coalition exercise between USAF and RAAF C-17 squadrons to develop seamless operations and maintenance integration so that one day RAAF and USAF operations are indistinguishable from one another. The Royal Australian Air Force No. 36 Squadron and U.S. Air Force 15th Wing teamed up during the two-week-long exercise to practice tactical airlift and airdrop capabilities.
During the exercise, both nations integrated aircrews and conducted low-level formations and cargo and personnel airdrops taking the unique opportunity to fly numerous C-17s in formation. In a humanitarian crisis, for example, the ability to launch multiple C-17’s with mixed crews doing airdrop missions will be critical to saving lives.
The C-17 Globemaster III is the Air Force’s most flexible cargo plane capable of rapid strategic delivery of troops and all types of cargo to main operating bases or directly to forward bases in the deployment area. The C-17 is enormous, measuring 174 feet long with a wingspan of 170 feet and is powered by four giant Pratt & Whitney F117-PW-100 turbofan engines. Despite its gargantuan size, the C-17 is designed to operate through small, austere airfields and it can take off and land on runways as short as 3,500 feet and only 90 feet wide. This flying warehouse cruises at 500 mph at an altitude of 28,000 feet and has a range of approximately 2,400 nautical miles. The aircraft is used for tactical airlift and airdrop missions and can transport ambulatory patients during aeromedical evacuations.
Unseen to the public is the enormous amount of planning that goes into every C-17 cargo flight. The size and weight of U.S.-mechanized firepower and equipment have grown over the years and so has the need for larger air transport capability to deliver troops and equipment to the battlefield. Cargo is loaded onto the C-17 through a large aft ramp and door system that can accommodate102 paratroopers with their accompanying equipment.
The Loadmaster is responsible for properly loading, securing, and escorting cargo and passengers ensuring everything and everyone is safe and secure on flights all over the world.
(Editor’s Note: The Advanced Instructor Loadmaster Course is very selective. Airmen must be nominated through their respective squadrons and approved by their wing commander and then pass a selection board that decides who will attend the rigorous 14-week program).
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Hohenfels, Germany. (May 5, 2023): When can a Specialist issue orders even a General must obey? When they are an aviation Crew Chief aboard military helicopters.
That is when, for safety reasons, what they say goes regardless of rank. In this photo by Specialist Joshua Zayas, Crew Chief Specialist Logan Speakman, assigned to the Joint Multinational Readiness Center, talks with his team over the radio while aboard the UH-72A Lakota aircraft.
Specialist Speakman and his Lakota are participating in Combined Resolve 18, a joint exercise involving U.S. Army Europe and Africa forces and the 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team of the 1st Cavalry Division.