U.S. Marine Lance Cpl. Nathan Metzger engages targets during a combined arms exercise aboard Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center, Twentynine Palms, Calif., Dec. 15, 2014. Metzger is a machine gunner with Battalion Landing Team 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit. BLT 3/1 conducted this training concurrent with the 15th MEU’s realistic urban training. RUT prepares the 15th MEU’s Marines for their upcoming deployment, enhancing their combat skills in environments similar to those they may find in future missions. (U.S. Marine Corps Photo by Sgt. Emmanuel Ramos/Released)U.S Army soldiers of the 4th Infantry Brigade, Combat team (Airborne) 25th Infantry Division, part of the NATO-led peacekeeping mission in Kosovo rest before a parachute jump training exercise in U.S military base Camp Bondsteel, near the village of Sojeve in Kosovo on Sunday, Dec. 21, 2014. The U.S Army peacekeeping force regularly conducts parachute exercises to maintain proficiency in airborne operations during their deployment in Kosovo. (AP Photo/Visar Kryeziu)An HH-60 Pave Hawk helicopter practices maneuvers above Bryant Army Airfield on Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, Dec. 17, 2014. The service member and helicopter are assigned to the Alaska Air National GuardÕs 210th Rescue Squadron.
U.S. Army National Guard photo by Sgt. Edward Eagerton
Recruits perform leg lifts during a circuit course on Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego, Dec. 11, 2014. The Marines are assigned to Echo Company, 2nd Recruit Training Battalion.
U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Walter D. Marino II Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, U.S. Army Gen. Martin Dempsey, left, talks to Tampa Bay Buccaneers co-chairmen Bryan Glazer, right, and Edward Glazer, center, before an NFL football game between the Buccaneers and the Green Bay Packers Sunday, Dec. 21, 2014, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara) Soldiers perform a change-of-command ceremony in a pool on Schofield Barracks, Hawaii, Dec. 18, 2014. Army Capt. Robert J. Meyer relinquished command to Capt. Troy F. Davidson during the event. The soldiers are assigned to the 7th Engineer Dive Detachment, 84th Engineer Battalion, 130th Engineer Brigade.
U.S. Army photo Navy Adm. James A. Winnefeld Jr., right, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert A. McDonald, center, receive a brief on a simulator for firearms training during a tour of the Center for the Intrepid in San Antonio, Dec. 19, 2014. Winnefeld brought McDonald, center professionals and researchers together to discuss innovative ways to improve the lives of wounded warriors.
U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Jonathan Snyder Navy Adm. James A. Winnefeld Jr., left, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, congratulates Army Staff Sgt. Steve Tessitore after his Purple Heart ceremony at the Center for the Intrepid at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, Dec. 19, 2014. Tessitore, an Oregon National Guardsman, was shot in the neck while conducting a security patrol in Afghanistan, Nov. 14, 2014.
U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Jonathan Snyder Ann Bryant, left, looks on with anticipation as her husband, U.S. Navy Lt. Commander Donald Bryant, greets their children Arielle and Tristan during the first quarter of an NFL football game between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Green Bay Packers Sunday, Dec. 21, 2014, in Tampa, Fla. Bryant surprised his family at the game after a deployment in Afghanistan. (AP Photo/Brian Blanco) U.S. service members sing during a holiday tree-lighting event on Barclay Training Center in Monrovia, Liberia, Dec. 18, 2014. The troops are assigned to the Joint Forces Command United Assistance.
U.S. Army photo by Spc. Rashene Mincy
