08/03/2014: U.S. Marines and sailors observe ships passing by during Marine Week Seattle, July 30, 2014.
Marine Week Seattle showcases Marine Corps equipment, aircraft, and technological capabilities to the general public.
More than 700 Marines are participating in Marine Week Seattle to give Seattleites the opportunity to meet the individual Marine and celebrate community, country, and Corps.
Credit:13th Marine Expeditionary Unit:7/30/14
08/02/2014: Nevada Air National Guard Airmen offload supplies from a C-130H Hercules May 25, 2014, in support of Allied Forge 2014, at Calvi Sainte Catherine Airport, Corsica, France.
Credit:4th Combat Camera Squadron:5/25/14
Allied Forge, led by the U.S. Army 82nd Airborne Division in conjunction with the 152nd and 165th Airlift Wings, is the first-ever interoperability exercise designed to enhance bilateral capabilities between the United States and the French 2nd Foreign Parachute Regiment.
The 2nd Parachute Regiment is a highly decorated one with its most recent combat experience in Mali.
The only airborne regiment of the French Foreign Legion. Created in Sétif in October 1948, it has been stationed at Camp Raffalli near the town of Calvi on the island of Corsica since it moved from Bou-Sfer, Algeria, in 1967. During its history, the 2e REP integrated men of the two other Legion airborne regiments, the disbanded 3e REP and 1er REP.
The 2e REP is well-known around the world for its participation in the Battle of Kolwezi in May 1978.
For a history of the regiment:
http://foreignlegion.info/history/2rep/
08/01/2014: Opening ceremony and U.S. Army Drop with Alaska Joint Forces demo during Arctic Thunder 2014 at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska on July 26, 2014.
Arctic Thunder is a biennial event hosted by JBER, featuring more than 40 Air Force, Army, and civilian aerial acts and with more than 200,000 people in attendance it is the largest two-day event in the state and one of the premier aerial demonstrations in the world.
Credit:4th Combat Camera Squadron:7/26/14
07/30/2014: KANGAROO FLATS TRAINING AREA, Northern Territory, Australia – Marines with 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, Marine Rotational Force – Darwin, and Soldiers with the Australian Army, participate in the fire team leaders course here.
Credit: MRF-D:5/28/14
The Fire Team Leader is a crucial element in a deployed USMC force. It is about fires integration from ground and air elements.
According to Major Cuomo, the head of the Infantry Officer Course (IOC):
A key aspect of USMC operations through which air and ground innovations pass from the standpoint of the GCE is through the FIST (fire support team) leader.
The FIST leader’s job is to employ all of the combined arms assets, whether at sea, in the air, or on the ground, in support of the GCE and its mission.
There is no other school which integrates the FIST’s role into the overall ground scheme of maneuver like this one
He added that with the addition of new systems, such as the Osprey and F-35, along with other new radar and attack systems, the “FIST commander can now think very differently about GCE and MAGTF operations.”
The rotational deployment in Darwin enables Marines to more effectively train, exercise, and operate with partners and builds capacity to respond more rapidly to natural disasters and crises throughout the region.
07/30/2014: Forty-two ships and submarines representing 15 international partner nations steam in a close formation during Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) Exercise 2014.
Twenty-two nations, 49 ships and six submarines, more than 200 aircraft and 25,000 personnel are participating in RIMPAC from June 26 to August 1, in and around the Hawaiian Islands and Southern California.
The world’s largest international maritime exercise, RIMPAC provides a unique training opportunity that helps participants foster and sustain the cooperative relationships that are critical to ensuring the safety of sea lanes and security on the world’s oceans. RIMPAC 2014 is the 24th exercise in the series that began in 1971. (U.S. Navy video by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Shannon Renfroe/Released)
Credit: Commander U.S. THIRD Fleet, Public Affairs Office:7/25/14
07/27/2014: KC-135 Stratotanker deployed with the 48th Air Expeditionary Group for Icelandic Air Policing refueling an F-15C Eagle.
Credit: Headquarters U.S. Air Forces in Europe and Air Forces Africa:5/28/14
07/25/2014: USS ANTIETAM (CG 54) Sailors practice underway replenishment with Saberhawks (HSM-77) while conducting operations with the George Washington Carrier Strike Group off the coast of southern Japan.
Credit:Navy Public Affairs Support Element Japan:5/25/14
07/25/2014: Forces from Poland, Canada and The United States participated in a combined exercise to secure and hold an airfield in Drawskow-Pomorskie, Poland on July 17.
Credit:U.S. Army Europe:7/7/14