
Visit, board, search and seizure (VBSS) team members, assigned to the guided-missile destroyer USS Mitscher (DDG 57), talk with fisherman during approach, assist and visit operations. Mitscher is deployed in the U.S. 5th Fleet area of responsibility supporting Operation Inherent Resolve, strike operations in Iraq and Syria as directed, maritime security operations and theater security cooperation efforts in the region. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Anthony R. Martinez/Released) 
Firefighters practice their ice water rescue techniques at a lake near Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, Dec. 20, 2014. The firefighters are assigned to the 673d Civil Engineer Squadron. U.S. Air Force photo by Tommie Baker 
U.S. Army Pfc. Caleb Blair exits a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter at Camp Bondsteel, Kosovo, Dec. 22, 2014. Blair is a radio telephone operator and an infantryman assigned to the 25th Infantry Division’s 4th Brigade Combat Team. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Melissa Parrish 
Sailors brace themselves as an MV-22 Osprey touches down on the flight deck of the amphibious dock landing ship USS Fort McHenry in the Atlantic Ocean, Dec 22, 2014. U.S. Navy Photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Adam Austin 
ARABIAN GULF (Dec. 24, 2014) Gunner’s Mate 2nd Class Dylan Dennison fires the shot line from the guided-missile destroyer USS Sterett (DDG 104) to the Military Sealift Command fleet replenishment oiler USNS Walter S. Diehl (T-AO 193) during a replenishment-at-sea. Sterett is deployed as part of the Carl Vinson Carrier Strike Group supporting maritime security operations, strike operations in Iraq and Syria as directed and theater security cooperation efforts in the U.S. 5th Fleet area of responsibility. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Eric Coffer/Released) 141224-N-GW139-013 Join the conversation http://www.navy.mil/viewGallery.asp http://www.facebook.com/USNavy http://www.twitter.com/USNavy http://navylive.dodlive.mil http://pinterest.com https://plus.google.com 
NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) soldiers carry flags during a ceremony marking the end of ISAF’s combat mission in Afghanistan at ISAF headquarters in Kabul on December 28, 2014. NATO formally ended its war in Afghanistan on December 28, holding a low-key ceremony in Kabul after 13 years of conflict that have left the country in the grip of worsening insurgent violence.The event was arranged in secret due to the threat of Taliban strikes in the Afghan capital, which has been hit by repeated suicide bombings and gun attacks over recent years. “Together… we have lifted the Afghan people out of the darkness of despair and given them hope for the future,” NATO commander US General John Campbell told assembled soldiers. “You’ve made Afghanistan stronger and our countries safer.” On January 1, the US-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) combat mission, which has suffered 3,485 military deaths since 2001, will be replaced by a NATO “training and support” mission. AFP PHOTO / SHAH MaraiSHAH MARAI/AFP/Getty Images 
A U.S. soldier kneels at the memorial for Army Sgt. 1st Class Ramon Morris and Spc. Wyatt Martin on Bagram Air Field, Afghanistan, Dec. 23, 2014. The soldier is assigned to the 3rd Cavalry Regiment. U.S. Army photo by Maj. Vance Trenke 
ROTA, Spain (Dec. 26, 2014) Marines from the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit (24th MEU) load supplies aboard the amphibious assault ship USS Iwo Jima (LHD 7) at Naval Station Rota, Spain. The 24th MEU and Iwo Jima Amphibious Ready Group are conducting naval operations in the U.S. 6th Fleet area of responsibility in support of U.S. national security interests in Europe. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Gunnery Sgt. Francisco J. Gutierrez/Released) 141226-M-NG884-028 Join the conversation http://www.navy.mil/viewGallery.asp http://www.facebook.com/USNavy http://www.twitter.com/USNavy http://navylive.dodlive.mil http://pinterest.com https://plus.google.com 
U.S. Air Force reservists, aboard a C-5M Super Galaxy, deliver humanitarian supplies to Augusto C. Sandino International Airport in Managua, Nicaragua, Dec. 20, 2014. U.S. Air Force photo by 2nd Lt. Steve Lewis 
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Marine Corps Sgt. Maj. Bryan B. Battaglia, senior enlisted advisor to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, serves as the grand marshal during the 2014 Military Bowl parade in Annapolis, Md., Dec. 27, 2014. Virginia Tech defeated Cincinnati 33-17. DoD photo by Army Staff Sgt. Sean K. Harp



