Operation Christmas Drop

Senior Airman Timothy Oberman (left) and Staff Sgt. Nick Alarcon watch out the back of a C-130H Hercules after dropping the first pallet of humanitarian goods to the island of Ulal, Dec. 11, 2012. Operation Christmas Drop is a non-profit organization powered by volunteers from Andersen Air Force Base and the local Guam community. Oberman and Alarcon are loadmasters with the 36th Airlift Squadron, Yokota Air Base, Japan. (U.S. Air Force photo/Tech. Sgt. Samuel Morse)

Mission employment phase

Airman 1st Class Bill Bossinger, 757th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron electrical and environmental systems journeyman, tightens wiring underneath an F-15 Eagle during the Mission Employment Phase exercise at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev., Dec. 7, 2012. The exercise is hosted north of Las Vegas on the Nevada Test and Training Range--the U.S. Air Force's premier military training area with more than 12,000 square miles of airspace and 2.9 million acres of land. (U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman Brett Clashman)

Vets Day Flyby

A C-5 Galaxy performs a flyby over Gillette Stadium, Foxboro, Mass., Nov. 11, 2012, just before kickoff, to an estimated crowd of more than 68,000. The C-5 is assigned to Westover Air Reserve Base, Mass. (U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman Kelly Galloway)

In memory

Tech. Sgt. Sara Bauer and Staff Sgt. Felipe Mendoza help each other place flags above the graves of U.S. military members at the Veterans Memorial Park, Bluffdale, Utah, Nov. 9, 2012. A group of volunteers from Hill Air Force Base helped the Memorial Park's staff place flags by more than 4,300 deceased U.S. military members’ graves. (U.S. Air Force photo/Airman 1st Class Tiffany DeNault)

Civic Leader Flight

Loadmaster Senior Airman Dylan Strom enjoys the view during a civic leaders and clergy flight. Clergy and leaders from the local area participated in an orientation flight with the 934th Airlift Wing Oct. 25.  (U.S. Air Force photo/Shannon McKay)

Bomb bay

ANDERSEN AIR FORCE BASE, Guam—Senior Airman Daniel Babis, left, and Airman 1st Class Anthony Rodriguez install an umbilical connector into a training AGM-86B Conventional Air-Launched Cruise Missile during a B-52 Stratofortress load demonstration at Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, Oct. 17, 2012. The Airmen deployed from the 96th Expeditionary Aircraft Maintenance Unit, Barksdale Air Force Base, La. (U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman Benjamin Wiseman)

Career day

Isaiah Moless, a student at Joan K. Mendel Elementary School, talks into a headset before a C-130 Hercules tour during Career Day at Yokota Air Base, Japan, Oct. 16, 2012. A variety of organizations from around the base participated in the event to share their insight and military experience with students. (U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt Stacy Moless) 

Smoke cover

Staff Sgt. Ernest Andrews participates in Combat Skills Training at Joint Base McGuire-Dix – Lakehurst, N.J., Sept. 23, 2012, for an upcoming deployment. The exercise, part of the Combat Life Savers course, is used to provide Airmen the skills necessary to render possible life saving treatment while under fire. Ernest is with the 7th Civil Engineering Squadron at Dyess Air Force Base, Texas (U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Kenneth Bricker)

C-17 Globemaster III answers the call in Afghanistan

A C-17 Globemaster III taxis to its parking spot Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan, Sept. 25, 2012. The Globemaster III transports troops, equipment, and supplies in and out of Afghanistan. (U.S. Air Force photo/Capt. Raymond Geoffroy)

Honor

U.S. Air Force Honor Guard Drill Team performs at a U.S. Air Force Band concert at the Air Force Memorial in Washington, D.C., August 24, 2012. (U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman Christina Brownlow)

A leader’s farewell

Gen. Norton Schwartz bids farewell to his Airmen while departing from the Pentagon Aug. 8, 2012, for the final time as the Air Force chief of staff. Schwartz served 39 years in the Air Force, the last four years as the Air Force's senior uniformed leader. (U.S. Air Force photo/Master Sgt. Cecilio Ricardo) 

“All in a line”

C5 Galaxies align on a Westover runway to make room for air show aircraft at Westover Air Reserve Base, Mass., Aug. 4, 2012. The 2012 Great New England Air Show was the largest Westover has had since 1974, boasting more than 60 aircraft. (U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman Kelly Galloway)

Beating the heat

Firefighters extinguish a fire started from a simulated C-130 Hercules crash at Osan Air Base, South Korea during operational readiness exercise Beverly Midnight 12-03, July 23, 2012. Each scenario tests their ability to defend the base and conduct daily operations during a heightened state of readiness. The firefighters are assigned to the 51st Civil Engineer Squadron. (U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Craig Cisek)

Pride and Precision

Capt. Blaine Jones takes off during the Joint Base Lewis-McChord Air Expo, July 22, 2012. Captain Jones is the Opposing Solo pilot, Thunderbird 6. (U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Larry E. Reid Jr.)

Cadet camp

Pensacola Air Force Junior ROTC cadre brief cadets at the Marina on Hurlburt Field, Fla., July 19, 2012. More than 40 cadets from Pensacola Air Force Junior ROTC visited the base for their Summer Leadership School from July 16-20, 2012. This course is designed to teach cadets leadership, confidence and other traits. (U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. David Salanitri)

Window to the past or The past meets the present

Basic military training trainees Richard Dibble and Dominic Gurule clean the exhibits at the USAF Airman Heritage Museum at Joint Base San Antonio – Lackland, July 18, 2012. (U.S. Air Force photo/Tech. Sgt. Bennie J. Davis III)

Spirits

Crew chiefs from the 509th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron and 131st Bomb Wing perform a phase inspection on a B-2 Spirit at Whiteman Air Force Base, Mo., July 12, 2012. Every 1000 flight hours the B-2 is inspected for discrepancies that could cause major damage. (U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman Nick Wilson)

Colorado Springs Waldo Canyon Fire

Chris Loung wipes sweat from his face. "Yeah, it’s physically demanding, but a lot of it’s mental ... just trying to survive through the day. I just think about the finish and what you’re doing and who you’re doing it for," said Loung. (U.S. Air Force photo by Master Sgt. Jeremy Lock)

Step by step

Staff Sgt. Eduardo Ausmann observes Kyrgyz Republic Lt. Salamat Temirbekov search for simulated contaminated materials as part a chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, and explosives training scenario during Exercise Regional Cooperation 12 at the Koi Tash Military Academy, Kyrgyzstan, June 22, 2012. Regional Cooperation 12 is a multinational exercise designed to strengthen relationships and promote regional cooperation among the participating nations while offering coordinated, rapid response scenarios in the event of a disaster affecting multiple countries within the region. Ausmann is a 376th Expeditionary Medical Group biomedical engineer deployed out of Wright Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio and is a native of Jacksonville, Fla. (U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman Brett Clashman)

Red flag

Maj. Vince O'Conner climbs into the cockpit of an F-16C Fighting Falcon before a combat training mission during Red Flag-Alaska 12-2 at Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska, June 12, 2012. O’Conner is a pilot with the 36th Fighter Squadron, Osan Air Base, South Korea. (U.S. Air Force photo/Tech. Sgt. Michael R. Holzworth)

Vroom…

139th Airlift Wing Sound of Speed Airshow and Open House practice at Rosecrans Memorial Airport, St. Joseph, Mo., May 4, 2012. (U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman Sheldon Thompson)

Olympic Dreams

Major Eli Bremer, sights his laser gun while shooting at the Olympic Training Center, Colorado Springs, Co. Modern pentathletes shot from a 10 meters distance, in between running a 3000 m run. (U.S. Air Force photo/Tech. Sgt. Bennie J. Davis III)

Golden hour

Master Sgt. Kevin Preston checks on an Afghan local national in critical, but stable condition for transport, Forward Operating Base Tarin Kowt, Afghanistan, April 9, 2012. Preston is an aeromedical evacuation technician with the 651st Expeditionary Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron. (U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Greg Biondo)

Osprey perched

A CV-22 Osprey, flown by the 8th Special Operations Squadron, hangs in the anechoic chamber at the Joint Preflight Integration of Munitions and Electronic Systems hangar at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., March 6, 2012. (U.S. Air Force photo/Samuel King Jr.)