U.S. and Japanese soldiers train together during the North Wind exercise at Camp Higashi Chitose, Hokkaido, Friday, Jan. 26, 2024. (Akifumi Ishikawa/Stars and Stripes)

Airmen salute new 7th Air Force commander Lt. Gen. David Iverson during a ceremony at Osan Air Base, South Korea, Jan, 30, 2024. (Christopher Green/Stars and Stripes)

Air Force Staff Sgt. James Kennedy pets Maria, a therapy dog, at the USO on Yokota Air Base, Japan, Jan. 25, 2024. (Kelly Agee/Stars and Stripes)

From left to right: Senior Enlisted Advisor to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Sgt. Maj. Troy E. Black; Sergeant Major of the Army Michael R. Weimer; Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy James M. Honea; Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps Carlos A. Ruiz; Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force Joanne S. Bass; and Chief Master Sergeant of the Space Force John F. Bentivegna at a House Armed Services Committee hearing on Jan. 31, 2024. (Joe Gromelski/Special to Stars and Stripes)

A South Korean tank fires a round during training with the U.S. Army at Nightmare Range in Pocheon, South Korea, on Jan. 4, 2024. (Christopher Green/Stars and Stripes)

The Navy plans to expand its partnership with Japanese shipyards to allow for more significant warship repairs, U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel said at Yokosuka Naval Base, Japan, Friday, Jan. 19, 2024. (Jennessa Davey/Stars and Stripes)

Airmen pay tribute to the fallen CV-22B Osprey aircrew during a retreat ceremony at Yokota Air Base, Japan, Feb. 15, 2024. (Jeremy Stillwagner/Stars and Stripes)

Snow begins to fall on commuters in Yokohama, Japan, Monday, Feb. 5, 2024. (Akifumi Ishikawa/Stars and Stripes)

Miss America Madison Marsh, also a second lieutenant in the Air Force, speaks with Sen. Jack Reed, D-RI, the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee during a presentation at the House Cannon office building in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, Feb. 6, 2024. (Carlos Bongioanni/Stars and Stripes)

A Milrem THeMIS armed uncrewed ground vehicle from the Dutch military fires a .50-caliber machine gun during an Army Expeditionary Warfare Experiment demonstration of robotics capabilities in an infantry platoon on Tuesday, Feb. 27, 2024 at Fort Moore, Ga. The experiment is testing the viability of building robotic capabilities into light infantry platoons in the future. (Corey Dickstein/Stars and Stripes)

Soldiers from the German Army NCO School climb aboard an M1A2 Abrams tank Feb. 22, 2024, to learn more about U.S. military equipment from 1st Battalion, 37th Armored Regiment troops during an exchange in Grafenwoehr, Germany. (Matthew M. Burke/Stars and Stripes)

Soldiers with the Army’s 4th Airborne and Ranger Training Brigade demonstrate ice sheeting to rapidly cool a service member experiencing a suspected heat injury during the Army Heat Forum at Fort Moore, Ga., on Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2024. (Corey Dickstein/Stars and Stripes)

U.S. Marines and Thai soldiers adjust one another's protective gear during a Cobra Gold evacuation drill in Rayong, Thailand, March 3, 2024. (Alex Wilson/Stars and Stripes)

U.S. Army soldiers of the 11th Engineer Battalion, 2nd Infantry Division, and South Korean troops of the 5th Engineer Brigade move bridge parts during wet gap training at the Imjin River, South Korea, March 20, 2024. (Luis Garcia/Stars and Stripes)

Soldiers at Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar, load a U.S. Air Force C-17 Globemaster III with a bundle of humanitarian aid or Gaza, on March 16, 2024. (J.P. Lawrence/Stars and Stripes)

Sgt. Kaity Andersen gets set to jump out of a C-130 Hercules on March 14, 2024, during the 173rd Airborne Brigade's all-female parachute jump near Vajont, Italy. (Brian Erickson/Stars and Stripes)

An F/A-18 Super Hornet prepares to launch from the deck of the aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower in the Red Sea on March 19, 2024. (Alison Bath/Stars and Stripes)

Soldiers from the Military District of Washington prepare the colors for a National Vietnam War Veterans Day ceremony in Washington, March 29, 2024. (Joe Gromelski/Stars and Stripes)

The skippers of the JS Izumo and USS Ronald Reagan, Capt. Jo Takemasa and Capt. Daryle Cardone, pose with a Daruma doll during a ship gift exchange in Yokosuka, Japan, April 2, 2024. (Jennessa Davey/Stars and Stripes)

Army Capt. Tanner Potter reaches out to touch the Ranger sign at Victory Pond during the final day of the Army’s annual Best Ranger Competition on Sunday, April 14, 2024, on Fort Moore, Ga. (Corey Dickstein/Stars and Stripes)

U.S. Space Force Tech. Sgt. Mark Fitzgerald, with the 53rd Satellite Operations Squadron in Landstuhl, Germany, removes his uniform top while treading water during the swim portion of the German Armed Forces Badge for Military Proficiency at Ramstein Air Base, Germany, April 22, 2024. (Alexander Riedel/Stars and Stripes)

Marlee DaBrowski, an Army spouse, tearfully hugs her son, John, 4, after receiving her associates degree in general studies at the University of Maryland Global Campus Europe commencement ceremony on Saturday, April 27, 2024, at Ramstein Air Base, Germany. (Jennifer H. Svan/Stars and Stripes)

Tech. Sgt. Kayla Bradford waits for a radiological assessment on an F-16 Fighting Falcon during exercise Radiant Falcon, held April 24, 2024, at Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany. She is wearing a device that monitors gamma and beta radiation exposure in real time and alerts the user to unsafe exposure levels. (Alexander Riedel/Stars and Stripes)

Michael Booker, Pvt. Robert D. Booker’s eldest nephew, and Kimberly Talley-Armstead, the sister of Staff Sgt. Stevon Booker, christened the Army’s new combat vehicle Thursday, April 18, 2024, during a dedication ceremony for the M10 Booker. (Matthew Adams/Stars and Stripes)

U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel thanks USS Ronald Reagan sailor as they prepare to depart Yokosuka Naval Base, Japan, May 16, 2024. (Jennessa Davey/Stars and Stripes)

Members of the 3rd Marine Littoral Regiment fire an M-777 howitzer during a Balikatan drill at the La Paz Sand Dunes in Laoag, Philippines, May 6, 2024. (Jonathan Snyder/Stars and Stripes)

Sailors and Marines stand at parade rest on the flight deck of the USS Bataan amphibious assault ship as it pulls into the port of Miami for Fleet Week on Sunday, May 5, 2024. (Corey Dickstein/Stars and Stripes)

Kris Sharples, a veteran of the 556nd Ordnance Company, attends the opening ceremony May 8, 2024, for a new audio guide remembering the American military presence in Pirmasens, German. Sharples wore his "safe driver award" jacket, which he earned during his assignment in Pirmasens. (Alexander Riedel/Stars and Stripes)

Manfred Hofmeyer, a retired German army brigadier general and board member of the German War Graves Commission, carries a box containing the remains of Army 1st Lt. Nathan Baskind into the Landstuhl Regional Medical Center chapel in Germany on May 28, 2024. The Germans turned over the remains to Army mortuary affairs officials at a dignified recovery of remains ceremony. Baskind was later reburied at Normandy American Cemetery in Colleville-sur-Mer, France. (Jennifer H. Svan/Stars and Stripes)

A group of soldiers from the 3rd Infantry Regiment, also known as The Old Guard, places flags at gravesites at Arlington National Cemetery on Thursday, May 23, 2024, to honor fallen service members for Memorial Day. (Matthew Adams/Stars and Stripes)

Soldiers from the 529th Military Police Company fire cannons to welcome Gen. Darryl Williams to the 56th Artillery Command change of command ceremony June 13, 2024, on Clay Kaserne, in Wiesbaden, Germany. (Bradley Latham/Stars and Stripes)

Brig. Gen. Maurice Barnett makes a farewell speech to members of the 10th Army Air and Missile Defense Command on June 20, 2024, after relinquishing command during a ceremony at Sembach Kaserne. (Phillip Walter Wellman/Stars and Stripes)

A soldier with the 101st Airborne Division cuts through concertina wire during an air assault demonstration in Carentan, France, on June 2, 2024, part of D-Day commemoration events in Normandy. (Phillip Walter Wellman/Stars and Stripes)

Air Force Staff Sgt. Shanna McCarter and her dog Mojito take a break in the shade between training sessions at Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany, on June 26, 2024. McCarter is a military working dog handler with the 86th Security Forces Squadron at Ramstein Air Base. (Alexander Riedel/Stars and Stripes)

A Douglas C-47 Skytrain taxis underneath a water cannon salute during the Berlin Airlift 75th anniversary commemoration June 16, 2024, in Wiesbaden, Germany. (Bradley Latham/Stars and Stripes)

A landing craft from the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit reaches the beach at a Polish air force base at Ustka, Poland as part of Baltic Operations 24, June 16, 2024. (Alison Bath/Stars and Stripes)

Sailors take a photo while waiting to disembark the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower. The aircraft carrier returned Sunday, July 14, 2024, to Naval Station Norfolk, Va., from a deployment to the Red Sea. (Caitlyn Burchett/Stars and Stripes)

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy presents an award to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., during a meeting Tuesday, July 9, 2024, on Capitol Hill. At left is Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., who also received the award. (Joe Gromelski/Special to Stars and Stripes)

An Army Apache pilot with the 12th Combat Aviation Brigade idles at a refueling point before conducting live-fire training at Grafenwoehr Training Area in Germany, on Sept. 24, 2024. (Lydia Gordon/Stars and Stripes)

Queen Maxima of the Netherlands escorts World War II veteran Kenneth Thayer, 99, into a ceremony in Mesch, Netherlands, on Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024, to mark 80 years since the beginning of the country’s liberation during the war. (Phillip Walter Wellman/Stars and Stripes)

U.S. Marine Corps veteran Dennis Connors clutches his silver medal he won in the men's T1-2 para cycle road race at the 2024 Paris Paralympics Sept. 7, 2024 in Clichy-sous-Bois, France. (Michael Abrams/Stars and Stripes)

Drivers drift through a turn at Mobara Twin Circuit during a Butcher Style Racing 88 event in Chiba, Japan, Sept. 7, 2024. (Juan King/Stars and Stripes)

A member of Marine Rotational Force-Southeast Asia watches an MV-22B Osprey land near Camp Cape Bojeador, Philippines, Oct. 20, 2024. (Seth Robson/Stars and Stripes)

A runner passes the Lincoln Memorial during the 2024 Marine Corps Marathon, Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024 in Arlington, VA. (Eric Kayne/Stars and Stripes) (Eric Kayne/Stars and Stripes)

A man and woman protest in front of Spangdahlem Air Base, on Friday, Oct. 18, 2024, despite heavy rain. They were protesting a court martial ruling earlier i the month that found a U.S. airman not guilty of murdering German national Michael Ovsjannikov last year. (Phillip Walter Wellman/Stars and Stripes)

The Army's Golden Knights perform before the 40th Army Ten Miler, October 13, 2024 in Arlington, Va. (Joe Gromelski/Special to Stars and Stripes)

Army WWII veteran Ceo Bauer, 101, downs a shot of a local spirit with World War II reenactors in Saint-Avold, France, Nov. 24, 2024. Bauer participated in the liberation of Metz 80 years ago. (Phillip Walter Wellman/Stars and Stripes)

An M270A2 Multiple Launch Rocket System belonging to the U.S. Army's 41st Field Artillery Brigade fires its first round during exercise Dynamic Front at the Rovajarvi training area in Finland on Nov. 17, 2024. (Lydia Gordon/Stars and Stripes)

Aurelio Aguilar Ruiz, 94, visits a U.S. service member's gravesite at the U.N. cemetery in Busan, South Korea, Nov. 11, 2024. Ruiz said he served as a 1st Infantry Division rifleman during the Korean War. (David Choi/Stars and Stripes)