FRIDAY FOTO –Extra– (August 28, 2015)

Waiting for Fuel.

U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Taylor Queen

A U.S. Marine Corps AV-8B Harrier jet  waits to receive fuel from an Air Force KC-135 Stratotankerwhile flying over Al Udeid Base in Qatar. Coalition forces fly daily missions in support of Operation Inherent Resolve,the air war against the self-styled Islamic State, also known as the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS).

Please click on the photo to enlarge the image and see details.

FRIDAY FOTO (August 28, 2015)

Equality Day.

Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Jennifer Case

Wednesday (August 26) was Women’s Equality Day, commemorating the 95th anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment of the Constitution — which gave women the right to vote in the United States. In other words, living up to that document’s opening words: “We the people of the United States …”

Women comprise at least 14 percent of the U.S. military. Recently the first two women soldiers completed the challenging Army Ranger course, earning the respected “Ranger” tab. Now the Defense Department is wrestling with how to implement a 2013 decision that could lift the ban on women serving in combat units like armor (tanks), artillery, infantry and special operations.

So here at 4GWAR we thought this would be a good time to show the tough and dangerous jobs women in the services already do.

After looking a dozens of photos of women in the services doing work that puts them in harm’s way — helicopter and fighter pilots, medics and forward area nurses, truck drivers, aircraft carrier deck crewmen, mechanics and helicopter door gunners — we found this photo. We think it’s the best, and most dramatic illustration of women doing hard jobs, dangerous jobs and scary jobs.

It shows Navy Electronics Technician 2nd Class Amanda Craig greasing the ball bearings of the primary marshaling radar for aircraft on the carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71). The technician is performing routine maintenance work high above Teddy’s flight deck. Notice how small the people look.

It’s also worth noting that the intrepid photographer who shot this picture from a perch almost as high up as Craig is also a woman: Mass Communications Specialist 3rd Class Jennifer Case.

The Roosevelt is deployed in the Arabian Sea, supporting Operation Inherent Resolve strike operations in Iraq and Syria.