THE FRIDAY FOTO (March 31, 2023)

DOING IT BACKWARDS, AND IN … SKIS.

(U.S. Army National Guard photo by Staff Sergeant Max Archambault) Please click on the photo to enlarge the image.

U.S. Army Sergeant Hunter Johnson conducts a mountain rappel during training for the Edelweiss Raid, on February 26, 2023 at Training Area Lizum, Innsbruck, Austria.

The Edelweiss Raid is an international, military competition sponsored by Austria’s bundesheer [national army] designed to test the alpine skills of mountain soldiers. Competitors must be able to quickly transition from skis to technical mountaineering and back into skis to overcome obstacles on the course.

The Edelweiss Raid covers 40 kilometers with an overall rise in elevation of 4,000 meters. The competition includes up to 12 stations with required military tasks, including high-angle shooting, call for fire, and mountain casualty evacuation. The event intends to challenge soldiers, foster camaraderie, and build relations between mountain warfighters across the world.

Sergeant Hunter is an instructor at the Army Mountain Warfare School, operated by the Vermont Army National Guard at Camp Ethan Allen Training Site, Jericho, Vermont.

For the record, of the 22 participating teams, 18 finished the grueling two-day competition. According to the event’s Facebook page, Germany’s  Mountain Battalion 233 from Mittenwald took the winner’s trophy and a gold medal. A team of the Hochgebirgsjägerbataillon 26 (High Mountain Rifle Battalion 26) from Spittal an der Drau, Austria won the silver medal and a team of the 53rd Mountain Combined Arms Brigade from the People’s Republic of China earned the third place bronze medal. No word on how the U.S. team fared. Other teams came from Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Poland, Romania and Switzerland.

FRIDAY FOTO (March 24, 2017)

Snow Tracks.

(U.S. Army National Guard Photo by 1st Lieutenant Benjamin Haulenbeek)

Soldiers advance through snow to their next firing position during a stress shoot. The exercise was part of the Vermont Best Warrior Competition at Camp Ethan Allen Training Site, Jericho, Vermont., on March 18, 2017.

During the three-day event, elite soldiers take physical fitness tests and written exams, and perform warrior tasks relevant to the current environment

FRIDAY FOTO: March 4, 2016

Almost There.

Vermont Army National Guard photo by Staff Sergeant Nathan Rivard

Army Sergeant Ryan Hawley climbs the mountain at Smugglers’ Notch in Jeffersonville, Vermont during in mountain warfare training.

Hawley is assigned to the Colorado National Guard’s 1st Battalion, 157th Infantry Regiment.

To see more photos of Hawley’s training group, click here.

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.