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San Diego, California. (March 1, 2023): In this photo by Lance Corporal Jacob B. Hutchinson, U.S. Marine Corps Recruit Levi Castleman with Golf Company, 2nd Recruit Training Battalion, receives his buzz haircut at Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego. Recruits receive haircuts weekly during basic training to maintain a uniform appearance and promote good hygiene throughout recruit training. Castleman was recruited out of Amarillo, TX, with Recruiting Station Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Commentary:
It has been 47 years but I can still remember the feel of my just shaved noggin, prickly and strange, as I piled out of the barber’s chair during Basic Combat Training at Fort Knox, Kentucky. I remember stepping outside and not recognizing any of the soldiers who I swear rode with me on the bus from Miami.
The shaving of heads is a military tradition, not just for hygiene reasons, for every recruit (except women) since the earliest days of our republic. Other than keeping things uniform, the shearing of locks accomplishes the very important goal of eliminating the “individual” among the troops.
Every recruit arrives at basic training with their own sense of self importance and ego as individuals, not as members of a team. The military deliberately breaks down these cultural, racial, and financial differences by ensuring every trainee looks (and acts) like everyone else.
The goal here is to break a person down to their essence and strip them of unearned pride and the tendency to “look out for oneself”. No matter what their background, military recruits are affectionately called “maggots”, the lowest form of life, to remind them that without their buddies they will not survive in combat. Once that lesson has been absorbed, the military proceeds to rebuild these trainees in the military image. While initially unsettling, the “levelling” of recruits (including spartan haircuts) is an essential part of turning civilians into warfighters.
By Jim Spearing
SSgt. (Ret).
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Micronesia. (February 14, 2023): In this photo by Tech Sergeant Jao’Torey Johnson, U.S. Air Force Capt. Shailey Dao, a flight nurse, receives in-flight contingency response training from a Royal Australian Air Force service member while aboard a C-27J Spartan during exercise Cope North 2023.
Often called “flying angels”, military flight nurses are credited with saving countless lives that otherwise would be lost without their skill and dedication. When injured Airmen need to be transported, medical care continues enroute to more advanced medical care by members of the aeromedical evacuation team.
It is the responsibility of Air Force Flight Nurses to provide emergency lifesaving and prehospital care, from planning a mission to final deplaning at the hospital. During flight, these nurses us their assessment skills to advise waiting ground medical staff of the situation so they can get a jump on needed treatment.
To be a military flight nurse, candidates must have a bachelor’s degree from an accredited nursing school and have at least one year clinical experience in acute care.
Cope North 2023 involved air force units from Australia, Japan, and the United States launching aircraft from airfields on Guam, the Marianas, and Palau in the Western Pacific. The exercise gives these forces the chance to rehearse and refine a range of missions they may face in the real world, including humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, and agile combat employment operations.
The Royal Air Force deployed elements of its Combat Support Group including contingency response and health and security forces. These elements integrated with the United States Air Force and Japan Air Self Defense Force counterparts with a focus on improving interoperability and establishing airbases at multiple locations simultaneously.
The exercise also focused on developing agile combat employment tactics, techniques, and procedures to ensure air power can be employed when and where it is required.
This year was the 13th time Australia has taken part in Exercise Cope North.
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Andersen Air Force Base, Guam. (February 9, 2023): In this photo by Senior Airman Christa Anderson, U.S. Air Force aircraft maintenance personnel assigned to the 119th Wing position an MQ-9 Reaper drone onto jacks to prepare for landing. Placing the bird onto jacks allows the landing gear to wind down into place so maintainers can begin the assembly process. The Reaper is a remotely piloted, armed, medium altitude drone built by General Atomics Aeronautical Systems that can remain airborne for up to 27 hours.
The MQ-9 is a larger, heavier, and more capable aircraft than the earlier General Atomics MQ-1 Predator and can be controlled by the same ground systems. The Reaper has a 950-horsepower turboprop engine that can achieve speeds of 240 mph and can operate at up to 50,000 feet with a 3,850-pound payload. The Reaper can carry up to four Hellfire II anti-armor missiles and two laser-guided 500-pound bombs. It also serves as a long-endurance, persistent surveillance platform that includes electro-optical/Infrared Lynx® Multi-mode Radar, multi-mode maritime surveillance radar, laser designators, and various weapons and payload packages.
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Dili, Timor-Leste (February 15, 2023): In this photo by Sergeant Nicolas Atehortua, Marines assigned to the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit and U.S. Navy Sailors assigned to the amphibious transport dock USS John P. Murtha watch a native dance performed by the people of Timor-Leste, also known as East Timor.
Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training/Marine Exercise (CART) is a bilateral exercise between Timor-Leste and the United States designed to promote regional security cooperation, strengthen maritime partnerships, and enhance maritime interoperability. In its 28th year, the CARAT series is designed to help U.S. and partner forces operate together in response to maritime security challenges in the Indo-Pacific.
During the exercise, 100 Timor-Leste Defense Force service members plus members of the National Police participated in a series of trainings aboard John P Murtha and at Hera Naval Base on the island. These sessions included classroom and practical application of combat life saving techniques, helicopter-borne assault operations, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief , and board, search, and seizure exercises.
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Hohenfels Training Area, Germany. (February 19, 2023): In this photo by Staff Sergeant Jose Rodriquez Guzman, a soldier assigned to the 2nd Cavalry Regiment engages the enemy during Dragoon Ready 23, an exercise to enhance readiness and improve coordination with our NATO allies. Some 2,500 troopers and 120 soldiers from the 12th Combat Aviation Brigade joined soldiers from Italy and the United Kingdom to conduct combat drills and hone interoperability between forces.
The 2nd Cavalry Regiment, also known as the 2nd Dragoons, is an active Stryker Infantry and cavalry regiment of United States Army Europe and Africa and is garrisoned at Rose Barracks in Vilseck, Germany.
Formed in 1836, the Regiment has distinguished itself in major campaigns including the Indian Wars, the Mexican War, the Civil War, the Spanish-American War, both world wars, and the Persian Gulf War.
The 12th Combat Aviation Brigade, whose motto is “Wings of Victory”, is a combination of attack/reconnaissance helicopters (AH-64 Apache), medium-lift helicopters (Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk), and heavy-lift helicopters including the Boeing CH-47 Chinook.
Hohenfels is home to the Joint Multinational Readiness Center that trains leaders, staffs, and units to conduct of Unified Land Operations anywhere in the world. The Center covers 40,000 acres, has a short takeoff/landing strip, and is the second largest maneuver area available to U.S. troops in Europe.
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Fort Stewart, Georgia. (February 18, 2023): In this photo by PFC Summer Parrish, soldiers from the 3rd Infantry Division low crawl while carrying a simulated casualty during a competition to earn their Expert Field Medical Badge. To succeed, soldiers must pass a written and physical fitness test, negotiate various land navigation courses, and demonstrate advanced casualty care. Soldiers participate in a 12-mile march while treating and evacuating wounded soldiers under simulated combat conditions.
The 3rd Infantry Division (nicknamed the Rock of the Marne) is a combined arms division of the XVIII Airborne corps and U.S Army Forces Command. Its current organization includes a division headquarters, two armored brigade combat teams, one National Guard infantry brigade, and one aviation brigade. The division has a distinguished history, having seen active service in World War I, World War II, the Korean War, and the Global War on Terror. The Medal of Honor has been awarded to 61 members of the 3rd Infantry Division, making it the most honored in the Army.