Around the services

Profile: Life in the Armed Forces, Feb, 2004

Soldiers from Kandahar Army Airfield, Afghanistan conducted a Team Village mission where members of Civil Affairs and Psychological Operations visited local villages to provide humanitarian aid and gather passive intelligence in support of Operation Enduring Freedom, Nov. 23, 2003. Pvt. Melanie Vieira with the 10th Mountain Military Police Company pulls security near the village of Haji Raza Kalacha.

Infantrymen of the 1st Battalion, 27th Infantry Regiment, rally up to their next blank fire training site during Cobra Gold '03 held in Thailand, Nov. 23, 2003. The purpose of Cobra Gold is to improve U.S., Thai and Singaporean combat readiness and combined-joint interoperability, enhance security relationships and demonstrate U.S. resolve to support the security and humanitarian interests of our allies in the region.

Ground crews load a 66-ton Abrams tank onto a C-17 Globemaster III aircraft. The aircraft, from the 17th Airlift Squadron, Charleston Air Force Base, S.C., delivered the Army's main battle tank to an Operation Iraqi Freedom air base in northern Iraq.

An Aviation Boatswain's Mate aboard USS Enterprise guides an F/A-18 Hornet with Strike Fighter Squadron 86 (VFA 86 Sidewinders), into position for launch, Nov. 26. USS Enterprise is currently underway.

Using land navigation and combat tactics, 2nd Lt. Earl Elam (right) keeps a close eye on his surroundings as his unit moves out to rescue a "downed pilot" during a field training exercise. The exercise was part of a professional development program for lieutenants. Elam is assigned to the 552nd Maintenance Operations Squadron, Tinker Air Force Base, Okla.

Aviation Warfare Systems Operator 2nd Class Rusty Dewoody, from Cleveland, Ohio, inventories .50-caliber machine gun rounds in preparation for a live-fire exercise. Petty Officer Dewoody is assigned to the "Black Knights" of Helicopter Anti-Submarine Squadron Four USS John C. Stennis and Carrier Air Wing Fourteen.