LABOR DAY (September 7, 2015)

Important Jobs.

It’s Labor Day, the unofficial end of summer in the United States and the day American working men and women take part in parades and rallies to acknowledge what their predecessors have done to make working conditions safe and compensation fair — while calling attention to how much still needs to be done.  Meanwhile, the rest of the country — perhaps pausing briefly to think about their jobs and the meaning of work — takes one last three-day-weekend at the beach, the mountains or the backyard before the fall season starts in earnest.

At 4GWAR, we thought we’d pause to take a look at some of the jobs people do in the military that don’t get a lot of attention. Not everybody in the military hits the beach, fires a big gun, flies a plane or jumps out of one. So here is a short look at the less glamorous — but still important — jobs to keep the U.S. military ready and able to meet the next challenge — whatever and wherever it is.

 

U.S. Air Force photo by Racheal E. Watson

Air Force Staff Sgt. Saber Barrera, with 386th Expeditionary Logistics Readiness Squadron firetruck and refueling maintenance, works with a co-worker to replace an engine starter in Southwest Asia. These airmen are working in support of Operation Inherent Resolve, the U.S.-led effort with partner nations in the region and around the globe to eliminate the so-called Islamic State.

U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Nathan Burke

Two sailors, Fire Controlman 2nd Class Roots Semaj, left, and Fire Controlman 2nd Class Sharul Mahdsharif load a missile into a RIM-116 Rolling Airframe Missile (RAM) system aboard the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76). The Reagan, and its carrier air wing, provides a combat-ready force protecting maritime interests in the Indo-Asia-Pacific Region.

 

U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Carlos Cruz Jr.

Staff Sgt. David Hoyt, a KC-130J loadmaster with Marine Aerial Refueler Transport Squadron (VMGR) 152, guides a MV-22B Osprey tiltrotor aircraft into place for air-delivery ground refueling training aboard Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, Japan. This kind of refueling operation is usually conducted in an austere environment where an air strip or fuel is not available.

U.S. Army National Guard Photo by Staff Sgt. Nathan Rivard

Specialist Wright Small, petroleum supply specialist, assigned to Detachment 1, D Company, 1st Battalion, 224th Aviation Regiment, refuels a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter at the Army Aviation Facility, in  South Burlington, Vermont.