U.S. Navy Riverine security team members set a perimeter during Emerald Warrior in Apalachicola River, Fla., on March 6, 2012. The primary purpose of Emerald Warrior is to exercise special operations components in urban and irregular warfare settings to support combatant commanders in theater campaigns. (Devin R. Doskey/Courtesy of the U.S. Air Force)
U.S. Navy Riverine security team members set a perimeter during Emerald Warrior in Apalachicola River, Fla., on March 6, 2012. The primary purpose of Emerald Warrior is to exercise special operations components in urban and irregular warfare settings to support combatant commanders in theater campaigns. (Devin R. Doskey/Courtesy of the U.S. Air Force)
A U.S. Army M3A3 Bradley Fighting Vehicle from the 3rd Squadron, 1st U.S. Cavalry Regiment, Fort Benning, Ga., practices night-firing during National Training Center iteration 12-05, Fort Irwin, Calif., March 10, 2012. (Araceli Alarcon/U.S. Air Force)
This prize-winning photo of a couple in front of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., was taken in 2012 by Nathan G. Wilson-Crow, an Air Force photographer charged with rape and sexual assault. (Nathan G. Wilson-Crow/U.S. Air Force)
A skier executes a flip from a jump in a terrain park on the Zugspitze glacier ski area near Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, on Apr. 8, 2012. (Andrew M. Smith/U.S. Army)
U.S. Air Force Master Sgt. Kevin Preston, an aeromedical evacuation technician with the 651st Expeditionary Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron, cares for an Afghan local national in critical but stable condition for transport to a larger medical facility, Forward Operating Base Tarin Kowt, Afghanistan on April 9, 2012. (Greg C. Biondo/U.S. Air Force)
An Afghan National Army soldier poses with a poppy near the village of Karizonah, Khost province. In Afghanistan, the poppy crop is a major source of funding for extremist groups involved in the Taliban-led insurgency. (Joshua L. DeMotts/U.S. Air Force)
Marines from 4th Tank Division, Twentynine Palms, Calif., roll down a dirt road on their M1A1 Abrams Main Battle Tank during a day of training at Exercise Africa Lion on April 13, 2012. (Tyler L. Main/U.S. Marine Corps)
U.S. Navy Petty Officer 3rd Class Benjamin Knauth, blue glove, and Petty Officer 2nd Class Dustin Koch, place reassuring hands on the shoulder of an Afghan National policeman while examining his injuries in the battalion aid station here following an attack by a suicide bomber in Helmand province??s Garmsir district, April 19, 2012. The corpsmen treated eight injured Afghan policemen after being faced with a mass casualty situation following the attack on an ANP precinct headquarters in Garmsir??s Lakari region. (Reece Lodder/U.S. Marine Corps)
After a long day of turning in applications and filling more out, Charles "Chuck" Hanlan kneels down at the edge of his bed and prays God will lead him toward employment. Although Hanlan has been unemployed for more than seven years, he still puts his faith in God that he will help him get a job. (Andrew Lee/U.S. Air Force)
US Army Sergeant David Milne, 3rd Military Information Support Battalion (Airborne), re-enlists amidst crashing waves in the Atlantic Ocean, in Wilmington, N.C., on April 30, 2012. (Benjamin D. Applebaum/U.S. Army)
U.S. Army soldiers with the 1st Battalion, 501st Infantry Regiment deployed to Combat Outpost Sabari, Afghanistan, scan their area as they begin a multi-day air assault mission near the Pakistani border of eastern Afghanistan's Khost province May 2, 2012. (Joshua L. DeMotts/U.S. Air Force)
A paratrooper with the 82nd Airborne Division??s 1st Brigade Combat Team passes before the rising sun during a patrol into a village May 4, 2012, Ghazni Province, Afghanistan. The equipment on his back is used to block remotely detonated improvised explosive devices. (Michael J. MacLeod/U.S. Army)
Pfc. Kristina Batty, a medic with the 82nd Airborne Division??s 1st Brigade Combat Team, dons a headscarf to meet with female Afghan villagers May 5, 2012, Ghazni Province, Afghanistan. (Michael J. MacLeod/U.S. Army)
Dust lights up the rotors of a CH-47 Chinook helicopter as paratroopers with 3rd Squadron, 73rd Cavalry Regiment load for an air-assault mission near Combat Outpost Ab Band May 23, 2012, Ghazni Province, Afghanistan. (Michael J. MacLeod/U.S. Army)
U.S. Air Force equipment from the 820th RED HORSE Squadron, descends for support during Mobility Air Force Exercise on May 23, 2012, over the Nevada Test and Training Range. (Daniel Hughes/U.S. Air Force)
Members of Kandahar Provincial Reconstruction Team conduct a site survey of the Sanjaray bazaar May 24, 2012, in Kandahar, Afghanistan. Kandahar PRT is a joint team of U.S. Air Force, Army, Navy servicemembers and civilians deployed to the Kandahar province of Afghanistan to assist in the effort to rebuild and stabilize the local government and infrastructure. (Tim Chacon/U.S. Air Force)
U.S. Marine Cpl. Garrett Carnes, in wheelchair, a squad leader with 3rd Platoon, India Company, 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, jokes with Sgt. Kenney Clark, right, during a motivational run held at Marine Corps Base Hawaii, on May 29, 2012. Carnes lost his legs in an improvised explosive device attack Feb. 19 while supporting combat operations in the Khan Neshin district of Afghanistan??s Helmand province. (Reece Lodder/U.S. Marine Corps)
A Marine Corps Officer candidate moves forward into the unkown of the "Fire in the O" combat course at Marine Corps Base Quantico Officer Candidate training, summer cycle 2012. (Katlin Doran/U.S. Navy)
A Marine dog handler pokes his head through a fence during the 2012 Hawaiian Islands Working Dog Competition on Schofield Barracks, Hawaii, June 19, 2012. (Marcus Fichtl/U.S. Army)
A U.S. Army UH-60L Blackhawk flown by the Detachment 2, Company C, 1st General Support Aviation Battalion, 171st Aviation Regiment takes off at Fairfield, Utah, on June 20, 2012. The soldiers are conducting practice jumps in order to prepare for a future exercise. (Allen Stokes/U.S. Air Force)
Lance Cpl. Isaac Ramirez, Marine Wing Support Squadron 471, stands guard over Pfc. Nicolai 'Cola' Jensen at the Church of St. Patrick June 24 while Jensen's girlfriend, Abby Cuttell, says goodbye. Jensen died while attending infantry school. (Clinton Firstbrook/U.S. Marine Corps)
Candidates at the U.S. Marine Corps Officer Candidates School go through the combat course at Marine Corps Base Quantico, Va., on July 21, 2012. (Diana Sims/U.S. Marine Corps)
Soldiers from Troop B, 2nd Squadron, 106th Cavalry Regiment based in Dixon, Ill., finish a hard day in the field July 22 at Camp Ripley, Minn. during annual training. (Allison Lampe/U.S. Army)
A young boy herds cows to a holding pen during a Veterinarian Civic Action Project in Daaba, Kenya on August 5, 2012. (Daniel St. Pierre/U.S. Air Force)
Local men attempt to subdue a runaway bull during a Veterinarian Civic Action Project in Daaba, Kenya on August 5, 2012. (Daniel St. Pierre/U.S. Air Force)
Tyler Woodberry rests his head against the wall in frustration at the end of his second game of the 2012 Little League World Series on Aug. 18, in Williamsport, Pa. Europe lost its second game of to tournament to Caribbean 14-1, ending their chance to compete for the 2012 LLWS championship. (Andrew Lee/U.S. Air Force)
U.S. Air Force Explosive Ordnance Disposal technician Staff Sgt. Salvatore DiGiacomo from the 514th Civil Engineer Squadron, Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, NJ., demonstrates the EOD 9 bomb suit and helmet ensemble operational equipment on August 21, 2012 during Air Force Week in New York City, N.Y. (Jeremy Lock/U.S. Air Force)
U.S. Army Sgt. Fernando Diaz, a combat medic assigned to 568th Medical Company, Camp Humphreys, South Korea, is blindfolded and has ice cold water dumped over his head during a mock interrogation as part of the 2012 Pacific Regional Medical Command Best Medic Competition Aug. 30, 2012, at Schofield Barracks, in Wahiawa, Hawaii. (Michael R. Holzworth/U.S. Air Force)
A MC-130P Combat Shadow aircraft assigned to the California Air National Guard 129th Rescue Wing participates in a long range over-water search-and-rescue mission which originated 1,400 miles off the Coast of Acapulco, Mexico on Sept. 9, 2012. (John D. Pharr III/U.S. Air Force)
U.S. Air Force 1st Lt. Drew Parks, Joint Terminal Attack Controller, 82nd Expeditionary Air Support Operations Squadron, communicates with a U.S. Navy F/A-18 Super Hornet supporting Operation Spartan Shield on Sept. 11, 2012, Southwest Asia. (Jonathan Snyder/U.S. Air Force)
U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Bradley Garman from the 445th Civil Engineer Squadron, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio., operates a dust sweeper while repairing runway damage at the Combat Readiness Center, Gulfport, Miss., on Sept. 21, 2012. (Efren Lopez/U.S. Air Force)
A U.S. Air Force C-17A Globemaster III crew from Joint Base Charleston, S.C. prepares an air refueling mission September 27, 2012. (Matthew J. Bruch/U.S. Air Force)
A competitor stresses during CrossFit Integrity, the Integrity's Revenge Battle of Charleston CrossFit games October 6, 2012 in Charleston, S.C. CrossFit is growing in popularity every day as even the U.S. Military has integrated it into their physical fitness regime. (James Richardson/U.S. Air Force)
Retired Air Force Lt. Col. Robert Lock and his wife, Chris, comfort his mother Mary as she takes her last couple of breaths in life on October 22, 2012 as she passes at a nursing facility in Gloversville, N.Y. (Jeremy Lock/U.S. Air Force)
French Marine Cpl. Nicholas Foubert, center, an infantryman with the 8th Marine Infantry Parachute Regiment, identifies cover and concealment to fellow Marines while taking enemy fire during a training scenario as part of Exercise Amercal 2012, Oct. 23, 2012. (Reece Lodder/U.S. Marine Corps)
Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, speaks with friends before a military retirement ceremony in West Point, N.Y., on Nov. 3, 2012. (Bradley C. Church/U.S. Air Force)
Airmen post the scores during Global Strike Challenge Score Posting at Barksdale Air Force Base, La., on Nov. 7, 2012. (Krystal Ardrey/U.S. Air Force)
U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Sara Bauer, 388th Component Maintenance Squadron, and Staff Sgt. Felipe Mendoza, 75th Family Support Squadron, flags above a graves of deceased U.S. military members at the Veterans Memorial Park, Bluffdale, Utah, on Nov. 9, 2012. A group of volunteers from Hill Air Force Base helped the Memorial Park's staff place flags by over 4,300 deceased U.S. military members graves. (Tiffany DeNault/U.S. Air Force)
Polish and U.S. Air Force honor guard march to the flag poles during the Aviation Detachment Ceremony, Lask Air Base, Lask, Poland, on Nov. 9, 2012. (Araceli Alarcon/U.S. Air Force)
LeSean McCoy, Eagles running back, stiff arms Ernie Sims, Dallas Cowboys linebacker, as he runs the ball at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia on Nov. 11. (Austin Hazard/U.S. Marine Corps)
Joel Parkinson carves a Bonzai Pipeline during the 30th Anniversary Vans Triple Crown of Surfing Billabong Pipe Masters event Dec. 9, 2012, at the North Shore of Oahu, Hawaii. (Mike Meares/U.S. Air Force)
Recruits from Company C participate in the two-day event known as the Crucible at Marine Corps Recruit Depot, Parris Island, S.C., on Dec. 12, 2014. During the two-day event, the Marines average march 50 or more miles while using teamwork to complete tasks set in front of them. (Chris Griffin/U.S. Air Force)
U.S. Marine Corps Mine Resistant, Ambush Protected vehicles assigned to Company F, 2nd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment , are staged and inspected on Combat Outpost Now Zad, Helmand province, Afghanistan, on Dec. 17, 2012. (Alejandro Pena/U.S. Marine Corps)
A Prince George's County firefighter takes off his self-contained breathing apparatus mask after fighting a house fire March 29, 2012 at Joint Base Andrews, Md. (Perry M. Aston/U.S. Air Force)
The Military Photographer of the Year competition was judged last week at the Defense Information School at Fort Meade, Md. These images were selected as this year’s best from 11 categories. For more information about the Military Photographer of the Year and the DOD’s visual information awards programs, visit the Defense Information School’s website.