U.S. Airmen with 123rd and 156th Contingency Response Groups and the 172nd and 146th Contingency Response Flights help to load a U.S. Air Force C-17 Globemaster III aircraft assigned to the 172nd Airlift Wing, Mississippi National Guard, with personnel and cargo following exercise Air Defender 2023 (AD23) at Wunstorf Air Base, Wunstorf, Germany, June 27, 2023. Exercise AD 23 integrated U.S. and allied air power to defend shared values while leveraging and strengthening vital partnerships to deter aggression worldwide. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Staff Sgt. Michelle Ulber)

Spc. Anthonay Kimball with Alpha Battery, 2nd Battalion, 146th Field Artillery, 81st Brigade Combat Team, Washington Army National Guard, listens as Col. Ronald Kapral, the commander of the 81st BCT, and Command Sgt. Maj. Robert Sweeney, the command sergeant major of the 81st BCT, speak to their Soldiers during a visit Feb. 7 at Contingency Operating Base Marez, Iraq. About 2,400 Washington National Guardsmen and 900 California National Guardsmen deployed with the 81st BCT based out of Seattle in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom in October. They are scheduled to return home this summer.

A U.S. Air Force C-130 Hercules conducts air mobility operations at Holland Drop Zone on Fort Bragg, N.C. during Joint Operations Access Exercise 12-02, June 7, 2012. JOAX is a two-week forcible entry and ground combat exercise to prepare Air Force and Army service members to respond to worldwide crises and contingencies.

Soldiers and civilians volunteer to be hypnotized.

CONTINGENCY OPERATING BASE SPEICHER, Iraq – Soldiers and civilians stationed at Contingency Operating Base Speicher, Iraq, volunteer to be hypnotized by Chuck Milligan during his performance at the North Morale, Welfare, and Recreation Center, Jan. 17, 2011. With the aid of music and crowd silence, Milligan sent his volunteers into a deep, sleep-like state. "Five minutes in the deep, hypnotized state is equivalent to one hour of deep, normal sleep," said Milligan. The performance tour across Iraq is Milligan's third since the onset of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

(U.S. Army photo by Sgt. David Strayer, 109th MPAD, USD-N PAO)

Sgt. Justin Lynn, right, an infantryman assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 325th Airborne Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, emplaces a water impulse charge, an explosive tool designed to blow down metal doors, during live fire training on Fort Bragg, Sept. 9, 2013. The White Falcons, currently part of the Global Response Force, conducted a two-week intensive training cycle designed to reinforce combat skills for the nation’s airborne assault-capable, contingency unit.

(U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Jason Hull)

A convoy of fuel trucks pull into Convoy Support Center Adder during the early morning at Contingency Operating Base Adder, Iraq. The CSC allows convoy members a chance to refuel, grab some chow, get some sleep, and relax before they have to get back onto the road.

Job well done.

CONTINGENCY OPERATING BASE WARHORSE, Iraq – Col. Malcolm Frost, left, brigade commander of 2nd Advise and Assist Brigade, “Warriors,” 25th Infantry Division, commends 1st Lt. Joshua Donecker, executive officer of 512th Military Police Company, from Fort Leonard Wood, Mo., for his hard work during his deployment to Iraq, during an awards ceremony Jan. 23, 2011 at the Salie Gym at Contingency Operating Base Warhorse, Diyala province, Iraq. The 512th MP Company, attached to 1st Battalion, 21st Infantry Regiment, 2nd AAB, 25th Inf. Div., deployed to Iraq in March 2010 in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, transitioned operations from a supporting security role to an advise and assist role in support of Operation New Dawn.

(U.S. Army photo by Cpl. Robert England, 2nd AAB PAO, 25th Inf. Div., USD-N)

U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Jarrod Blanford, an aerial porter from the Kentucky Air National Guard’s 123rd Contingency Response Group, directs the placement of a pallet of humanitarian cargo from an all-terrain forklift onto a Halverston Loader at Léopold Sédar Senghor International Airport in Dakar, Senegal, Nov. 4, 2014. The cargo will then be transferred to a U.S. Air Force C-130 aircraft from Dyess Air Force Base, Texas, for delivery to Monrovia, Liberia, in support of Operation United Assistance, the U.S. Agency for International Development-led, whole-of-government effort to contain the Ebola virus outbreak in West Africa. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Maj. Dale Greer)

Walk along the river, sweet lullaby, it just keeps on flowing,

It dont worry bout where its going, no, no.

Dont fly, mister blue bird, Im just walking down the road,

Early morning sunshine tell me all I need to know

Chorus

Youre my blue sky, youre my sunny day.

Lord, you know it makes me high when you turn your love my way,

Turn your love my way, yeah.

Good old sunday morning, bells are ringing everywhere.

Goin to carolina, it wont be long and Ill be there

Good day' all

CONTINGENCY OPERATING SITE WARRIOR, Iraq -- Lieutenant Colonel Steven Hughes (left), Team Chief with the Provincial Police Transition Team, 1st Advise and Assist Task Force, 1st Infantry Division, discusses policing operations and progress made in the area by Iraqi Police efforts with Lt. Col. Moayed Bakir Sidiq (right), Chief of Police for the Dibbis Police District, one of the largest districts in Kirkuk province, Iraq, July 6, 2011.

(U.S. Army Photo by Sgt. David Strayer, 109th MPAD, USD-N)

Col. Charles Henderson, 621st Contingency Response Wing commander, high-fives Tech. Sgt. Scott Carlson, 621st Contingency Response Squadron defender October 6, 2016 at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, N.J. Henderson was present to support more than 30 members of the 621st CRW on their way to Port-au-Prince, Haiti in response to Hurricane Matthew, October 6, 2016. Once on the ground, the CRW will provide assistance by facilitating the movement of humanitarian aid and cargo. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Zachary Martyn/Released)

CONTINGENCY OPERATING BASE SPEICHER, Iraq –

Specialist James Hubbard, petroleum supply specialist, Company E, 1st Battalion, 5th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Advise and Assist Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division, from Arab, Ala.:

“Staying in battle buddy teams is too easy. Most of the time, your battle buddy is a friend and you want somebody to hang out with anyway.”

(U.S. Army photo by Spc. Andrew Ingram, USD – N PAO)

Airmen of the 123rd Contingency Response Team board a C-17 Globemaster III assigned to the 105th Airlift Wing at Wunstorf Air Base, Germany June 30, 2023. Seventeen Airmen from Stewart Air National Guard Base, Newburgh, NY flew around the world carrying the 123rd Contingency Response Team in support of exercise Air Defender 23 and Mobility Guardian 23. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by 2nd Lt. Briana Ross)

Airmen from the Kentucky Air Guard’s 123rd Contingency Response Group secure a forklift onto a Tennessee Air Guard C-17 at the Kentucky Air National Guard Base in Louisville, Ky., Aug. 29, 2017 in preparation for Hurricane Harvey rescue efforts in Texas. More than 40 Airmen from the Kentucky and Mississippi Air National Guard are deploying to George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston, where they will rapidly establish airfield, aeromedical evacuation and cargo operations. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Master Sgt. Phil Speck)

CONTINGENCY OPERATING SITE WARRIOR, Iraq – Sergeant Kevin Chapman, an infantryman and squad leader assigned to Company D, 2nd Battalion 12th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Advise and Assist Task Force, 1st Infantry Division, conducts systems checks before returning to Contingency Operating Site Warrior after a security patrol in Kirkuk, Iraq, July 16, 2011. Chapman, who hails from Conyers, Ga., is currently on his third deployment to Iraq, now supporting Operation New Dawn.

(Army photo by Staff Sgt. Robert DeDeaux, 1st AATF PAO, 1st Inf. Div., USD – N)

U.S. Air Force Airmen from the 36th Contingency Response Group and the 36th Airlift Squadron, offload a container from a C-130 Hercules during a humanitarian assistance and disaster relief training event at exercise Cope North 15 at Rota, Northern Mariana Islands, Feb. 15, 2015. Exercise Cope North 15 enhances humanitarian assistance and disaster relief crisis response capabilities between six nations and lays the foundation for regional cooperation expansion during real-world contingencies in the Asia-Pacific Region. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Jason Robertson/Released)

Piece by piece.

CONTINGENCY OPERATING BASE SPICHER, Iraq – Spc. Daniel Pelletier, a metal worker assigned to 299th Engineer Company, 724th Engineer Battalion, 36th Engineer Brigade, uses a torch welder to free a section of an Improvised Rafting Bridge on the Tigris River near Sharqat, Iraq, Jan 23, 2011. As the 299th Eng. Company engineers dismantled the IRB, vehicles crossed a brand new Iraqi made Sharqat Bridge which opened to Iraqi citizens for the first time the same day. The new Sharqat Bridge provides the quickest route for traffic traveling between the cities of Mosul and Tikrit.

(U.S. Army photo by Spc. Andrew Ingram, USD-N PAO)

CONTINGENCY OPERATING SITE MAREZ, Iraq - American illusionist David Blaine performs a card trick for Soldiers assigned to 4th Advise and Assist Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division, at Contingency Operating Site Marez, Iraq, Aug. 1, 2011. Blaine and retired professional basketball player Karl Malone accompanied Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen as he spoke with deployed Fort Hood troops in northern Iraq. In addition to performing card tricks, Blaine took pictures and handed autographed event flyers to the troopers.

(U.S. Army photo by Spc. Terence Ewings, 4th AAB PAO, 1st Cav. Div., USD-N)

U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Anthony Hayden, an aerial porter from the Kentucky Air National Guard’s 123rd Contingency Response Group, directs the movement of cargo outside the Joint Operations Center at Léopold Sédar Senghor International Airport in Dakar, Senegal, Oct. 24, 2014. Hayden and more than 70 other Kentucky Air Guardsmen are operating an Aerial Port of Debarkation in Senegal to funnel humanitarian supplies and military support into West Africa as part of Operation United Assistance, the U.S. Agency for International Development-led, whole-of-government effort to contain the Ebola virus outbreak. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Maj. Dale Greer)

U.S. Army Africa Commander Maj. Gen. Patrick J. Donahue II awards the Army Commendation Medal to Army Lt. Col. Jennifer Walkawicz, Monday, May 13.

Donahue recognized a group of military personal who supported U.S. Army Africa operations from Feb. 19 to May 10. According to the citiation, their exceptional leadership, planning ability and expertise was invaluable to the successes of USARAF. In doing so, the command met or exceeded all requirements in sychonizing Department of Defense efforts in Mali. (U.S. Army Africa photo by Sgt. 1st Class Wil Patterson)

To learn more about U.S. Army Africa visit our official website at www.usaraf.army.mil

Join the U.S. Army Africa conversation on Facebook: www.facebook.com/ArmyAfrica

Airmen from the 621st Contingency Response Wing (CRW) based at Travis Air Force Base, CA, deploy to Central African Republic (CAR) for humanitarian support, on December 13, 2013. AFRICOM is beginning to transport African troops from Burundi to CAR using US Air Force C-17 aircraft operating out of Entebbe as part of a larger effort of African nations supporting the African crisis in CAR. C-17s will to fly about a dozen missions from Entebbe over a week time frame, transporting a Burundian light infantry battalion of about 850 men and equipment from Bujumbura to Bangui in CAR. The C-17’s are staged at Entebbe airport as a convenient mid-way point with the proper facilities to service the aircraft and support aircrews. (Released - U.S. Air Force Photograph/Heide Couch)

CONTINGENCY OPERATING SITE MAREZ, Iraq – Major General David Perkins, commanding general of U.S. Division – North and 4th Infantry Division, speaks during a transfer of authority ceremony at Contingency Operating Site Marez, Sept. 4, 2011. Soldiers assigned to 4th Advise and Assist Brigade,1st Cavalry Division transferred authority to 4th AAB, 1st Armor Division, following a year-long deployment in support of Operation New Dawn.

(U.S. Army photo by Spc. Angel Turner, 4th AAB PAO, 1st Cav. Div., USD – North)

CONTINGENCY OPERATING BASE SPEICHER, Iraq – Jose Flores, a lab technician at the Contingency Operating Base Speicher Waste Department who calls Bellmore, N.Y., home, sings “His Eye is on the Sparrow” during a talent show at the Contingency Operating Base Speicher Morale, Welfare and Recreation Center in Salah ad Din province, Iraq, July 22, 2011. Flores took first place in the competition after a standing ovation from the audience.

(U.S. Army photo by Spc. Andrew Ingram, USD – N PAO)

Virginia National Guard Soldiers from the Virginia Beach-based 1940th and 1945th Contingency Contracting Teams participate in a six-day, joint, multi-state, contracting exercise Nov. 15, 2013, at Camp Pendleton, Va. The exercise, Vital Pledge, also includes Air and Army Guard personnel in Maine, Minnesota and South Dakota, as well as civilians from the Defense Logistics Agency. In addition to improving the Soldiers’ and Airmen’s familiarity with contracting systems and equipment, the exercise served to help prepare the four Soldiers of the 1945 CCT for their upcoming deployment to Afghanistan in early 2014. (Photo by Master Sgt. A.J. Coyne, Virginia Guard Public Affairs)

U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Brian Leach, an aerial porter from the Kentucky Air National Guard’s 123rd Contingency Response Group, directs the positioning of a forklift to offload pallets of humanitarian aid from a Halverson cargo-handling vehicle at Léopold Sédar Senghor International Airport in Dakar, Senegal, Nov. 12, 2014. The cargo will be staged in Senegal before being transloaded to U.S. Air Force C-130J aircraft for delivery into Monrovia, Liberia, in support of Operation United Assistance, the U.S. Agency for International Development-led, whole-of-government effort to contain the Ebola virus outbreak in West Africa. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Maj. Dale Greer)

Army Maj. Gen. Tony Cucolo (second from right), commander, United States Division-North, cuts a cake with (left to right) Maj. Gen. Ayad of the 12th Iraqi Army Division, Maj. Gen. Jamal, Kirkuk Provincial Director of Police, and Brig. Gen. Sherko of the 1st Peshmerga Brigade, to celebrate the Combined Security Force, “Golden Lions,” during their graduation and demonstration at the Kirkuk Training Center, near Contingency Operating Site Warrior, Feb. 15. Senior leaders of all the security forces in Kirkuk Province attended the event.

A U.S. Air Force Airman from the 36th Contingency Response Group marshals a Royal Australian Air Force C-130 Hercules into position to offload cargo during a humanitarian assistance and disaster relief training event at exercise Cope North 15 at Rota, Northern Mariana Islands, Feb. 15, 2015. Exercise Cope North 15 enhances humanitarian assistance and disaster relief crisis response capabilities between six nations and lays the foundation for regional cooperation expansion during real-world contingencies in the Asia-Pacific Region. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Jason Robertson/Released)

Range Rover under taup, as backup for a Grand Cherokee.

A U.S. Air Force C-130 Hercules conducts air mobility operations at Holland Drop Zone on Fort Bragg, N.C. during Joint Operations Access Exercise 12-02, June 7, 2012. JOAX is a two-week forcible entry and ground combat exercise to prepare Air Force and Army service members to respond to worldwide crises and contingencies.

Spc. Joseph Rogers, an infantryman assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 325th Airborne Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, arms a brazier charge, an improvised explosive tool used to blow through concertina wire obstacles, during live fire training on Fort Bragg, N.C., Sept. 9, 2013. The White Falcons, currently part of the Global Response Force, conducted a two-week intensive training cycle designed to reinforce combat skills for the nation’s airborne assault-capable, contingency unit.

(U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Jason Hull)

"Almost from the beginning, the single power plant standing within the city limits has been struggled over. While a fear-fueled mob marched on the home of Tammy Todd, a battle was being fought within the chambers and halls of the Durand Coal Thermal Plant #26 (now known to many simply as the northeast power plant). The plant's managers--apparently acting according to Durand company contingency plans--had armed their employees (those who had not already deserted) with AR-15 rifles and divided them into squadrons commanded by their foremen. Over the course of the next eleven days, Durand employees managed to repel a combined force of agents from the FBI and the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax Division (ATTD) until lack of supplies and a breakdown of inter-agency cooperation ended the attack. By that time the plant had run through its fuel reserves and was standing idle. The Durand employees began to slip away from their posts and into the city, seeking their families and friends. Soon only the plant's administrators remained, barricaded in their dark offices. . . . When next the plant was occupied, the administrators were found slumped near their windows, rifles still clutched in their bony fingers. . . . The discoverers of this grisly sight were the Boot Scrapers and their then-ally Cyril de Saavedra. The Boot Scrapers were former sanitation workers, one of the earliest of the city's Garbage Gangs; de Saavedra was an unstable pyromancer recently displaced from his native Asunción for transgressions unrevealed. Considering subsequent events, however, one might easily imagine the reasons for his exile. . . . Marcus Eggert, the chief of the Boot Scrapers, had the idea that the plant might be fueled with flammable unrecyclables--perhaps an admirable thought, if one disregards the tendency of the city's shell to hold smoke and fumes within. Unfortunately the venture was doomed to failure, and worse. . . . After weeks of study and repair the Boot Scrapers felt ready to attempt operation of the plant. Eggert asked de Saavedra to provide a small test fire, and at first all seemed to go as planned. The steam produced was enough to power the single turbine intended for testing, but de Saavedra was not satisfied with this. He asked for more fuel, and when Eggert denied him, the pyromancer hurled the chief himself into the flames. . . . The ensuing rampage claimed all but two of the Boot Scrapers--who were forced to escape through the coal pulverizer while it was in operation--and De Saavedra himself, who escaped into the city to further satisfy his pyromaniacal urges. (see p.402) . . . After that the Northeast lay mostly unused for many years. Groups of squatters occupied its halls from time to time, but these itinerant kingdoms inevitably fell either to internal or external violence. A large portion of the city came to believe that the plant was cursed. . . . The case of Mouth Breather and her gang did little to dispel this belief. Mouth Breather (the nickname was apparently one she gave to herself) was a street wizard of some ability who decided to seize power by giving it to the city. Her plan was to summon and bind an air elemental and force it to power the plant's turbines. (It is worth noting that the Gemini Society's chief aeromancer, Denys Bulgakov, had once proposed the same plan, but been voted down by the rest of the Gemini council.) . . . It is not known whether the magics involved were beyond Mouth Breather's ability, whether something in the Northeast's industrial aura caused the binding to go awry, or whether other agencies were at work. Whatever the cause, the elemental forces were not contained; they destroyed all those within the plant, and moved into the city proper, propagating a swarm of windstorms which kept most of the citizenry indoors for the next four days. (Bulgakov himself was a casualty of the outbreak, dashed against the Black Tower during a duel with a particularly fierce cyclone.) . . . Since that time the plant has been declared off-limits by Mayor Faldbakken III. It is rumored, however, that the recently formed Mayor's Committee To Bring Back the Streetlights is in fact a splinter group of the Mayor's Department of Uncanny Activity, charged with bringing the plant online via magical means, curse or no curse." (p.44-45)

Aviation Soldiers from the 1-214th AVN REGT deployed for a Contingency Operational Deployment in support of OEF-OIF

Airmen from the Kentucky Air National Guard’s 123rd Contingency Response Group arrive at Fort Campbell, Ky., June 17, 2014, via a Kentucky Air Guard C-130 Hercules to participate in Capstone '14, a homeland earthquake-response exercise. The 123rd CRG is joining with the U.S. Army’s 688th Rapid Port Opening Element to operate a Joint Task Force-Port Opening here from June 16 to 19, 2014. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Master Sgt. Phil Speck)

Talking to the Soldiers.

CONTINGENCY OPERATING BASE WARHORSE, Iraq – Brig. Gen. Paul LaCamera, the deputy division commander of Task Force Lightning, addresses Soldiers of 2nd Advise and Assist Brigade, 25th Infantry Division, following an award ceremony, Mar. 26, 2011, at the Salie Gym on Contingency Operating Base Warhorse, Diyala province, Iraq. LaCamera visited COB Warhorse to recognize Soldiers for their actions during combat.

(U.S. Army photo by Cpl. Robert England, 2nd AAB PAO, 25th Inf. Div., USD-N)

Aerial porters from the Kentucky Air National Guard’s 123rd Contingency Response Group offload humanitarian cargo from a U.S. Air Force KC-10 aircraft at Léopold Sédar Senghor International Airport in Dakar, Senegal, Nov. 12, 2014. The Kentucky Airmen will stage the cargo in Senegal before transloading it to U.S. Air Force C-130J aircraft for delivery into Monrovia, Liberia, in support of Operation United Assistance, the U.S. Agency for International Development-led, whole-of-government effort to contain the Ebola virus outbreak in West Africa. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Maj. Dale Greer)

Staff Sgt. Phillip Flores, 921st Contingency Response Squadron aerial port mobility supervisor, offloads pallets from a C-130J Super Hercules during Exercise Swift Response 16 at the Bydgoszcz Airport, Poland, June 8, 2016. Exercise SR16 is one of the premier military crisis response training events for multinational airborne forces in the world, the exercise has more than 5,000 participants from 10 NATO nations. (U.S. Air Force photo by Master Sgt. Joseph Swafford/Released)

210825-N-VL774-1004

SLUNJ, Croatia (Aug. 25, 2021) Equipment Operator 3rd Class Jacob Linde, assigned to Naval Mobile Construction Battalion (NMCB) 1, applies an NMCB 1 Battalion Equipment Evaluation Program sticker during turnover of the Croatia Contingency Medical Facility project, Aug. 25, 2021. The medical facility is intended to support exercise Saber Guardian, a multi-national exercise with U.S. and partner nation militaries. NMCB 1 is forward deployed to execute construction, humanitarian assistance, and theater security cooperation in the U.S. Fifth, Sixth, and Seventh Fleet areas of operation. (U.S. Navy photo by Builder 2nd Class Emily Due)

Divas rock COB Speicher.

CONTINGENCY OPERATING BASE SPEICHER, Iraq – Terry Ellis and Maxine Jones, divas for the R&B group En Vogue, perform a catalog of band hits and R&B classics for service members and civilians during a concert at Contingency Operating Base Speicher, Iraq, Jan. 20, 2011. Despite missing two of their band mates due to personal problems, Jones and Ellis put their heart and soul into the special performance for service members stationed at COB Speicher in support of Operation New Dawn.

(U.S. Army photo by Spc. Andrew Ingram, USD-N PAO)

CONTINGENCY OPERATING SITE MAREZ, Iraq – Sergeant 1st Class Bobby “Smoke” Brewster, field artillery platoon sergeant for 2nd Platoon, Battery B, 5th Battalion, 82nd Field Artillery Regiment, 4th Advise and Assist Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division, demonstrates how to use an aiming circle during a training exercise at the Ghuzlani Eagle Training Site, July 19, 2011. Brewster, a native of San Diego, is currently on his seventh overseas tour and fourth to Iraq.

(U.S. Army photo by Spc. Terence Ewings, 4th AAB PAO, 1st Cav. Div., USD-N)

CONTINGENCY OPERATING SITE MAREZ, Iraq – Iraqi Army Capt. Rafool Osow, right, property book manager for Al Kisik Location Command, signs documents transferring responsibility for Joint Security Station Whiskey 4 from U.S. Army to Iraqi Army control. U.S. forces established JSS Whiskey 4 in 2005 as a U.S. base of operations to combat extremist threats in the area during Operation Iraqi Freedom, and more recently, the base served as a base for training Iraqi units at Al Kisik Military Base.

(U.S. Army photo by Capt. Philip Crabtree, 4th AAB PAO, 1st Cav. Div., USD – N)

CONTINGENCY OPERATING SITE WARRIOR, Iraq – Sergeant Kevin Chapman, left, an infantryman from Conyers, Ga., assigned to Company D, 2nd Battalion, 12th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Advise and Assist Task Force, 1st Infantry Division, and Spc. Jesus Lopez, attend an after action review immediately following a security patrol in Kirkuk, Iraq, July 16, 2011. Chapman, a squad leader and vehicle commander for “Bulldog” 2nd Platoon, leads troops on counter-indirect fire patrols, checkpoint security sites and snap traffic control points while deployed to U.S. Division – North in support of Operation New Dawn.

(Army photo by Staff Sgt. Robert DeDeaux, 1st AATF PAO, 1st Inf. Div., USD – N)

Airmen from the 435th Contingency Response Group and Estonian military members board a C-130 J-model for parachute training during the Air Force-specific portion of Saber Strike at Lielvarde Air Base, Latvia, June 18, 2014. During the final week of Saber Strike 2014 the 435th Contingency Response Group, in conjunction with the 37th Airlift Squadron, trained on the full capabilities to open the Latvian air base. They also trained with Latvian and Estonian service members on airfield operations, command and control of air and space forces, weather support, and protection of operational forces, aircraft maintenance and aerial port services. (U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman Jonathan Stefanko)

Airmen from the 621st Contingency Response Wing (CRW) based at Travis Air Force Base, CA, deploy to Central African Republic (CAR) for humanitarian support, on December 13, 2013. AFRICOM is beginning to transport African troops from Burundi to CAR using US Air Force C-17 aircraft operating out of Entebbe as part of a larger effort of African nations supporting the African crisis in CAR. C-17s will to fly about a dozen missions from Entebbe over a week time frame, transporting a Burundian light infantry battalion of about 850 men and equipment from Bujumbura to Bangui in CAR. The C-17’s are staged at Entebbe airport as a convenient mid-way point with the proper facilities to service the aircraft and support aircrews. (Released - U.S. Air Force Photograph/Heide Couch)

Former STM (Société de Transport de Montreal) 17-033. This bus was allocated to Victoria Regional Transit System for contingency during the Olympic Games in Vancouver. It was renumbered to 7122 and remained in service until the end of March, 2010.

A U.S. Air Force C-130 Hercules conducts air mobility operations under the supervision of U.S Air Force Airmen of the 621st Contingency Response Wing, based at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, N.J., at Holland Drop Zone on Fort Bragg, N.C. during Joint Operations Access Exercise 12-02, June 7, 2012. JOAX is a two-week forcible entry and ground combat exercise to prepare Air Force and Army service members to respond to worldwide crises and contingencies.

Meeting the players.

CONTINGENCY OPERATING BASE SPEICHER, Iraq – Master Sgt. William O’Connor, noncommissioned officer in charge, Joint Operations Center, 4th Infantry Division and U.S. Division-North, shakes hands with Daniel Graham, a tight end with the Denver Broncos, during the Super Sunday Tour at Contingency Operating Base Speicher, Iraq, Feb. 5, 2011. O’Connor said he appreciated the professional football players and cheerleaders visiting Soldiers deployed in support of Operation New Dawn. Graham said he enjoyed meeting the COB Speicher Soldiers and wished he could do more to show his appreciation for their efforts to keep the people of the U.S. safe.

(U.S. Army photo by Spc. Andrew Ingram, USD-N PAO)

Sgt. Cameron Lucas, an infantryman assigned to 2nd Battalion, 325th Airborne Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, throws a smoke grenade to conceal his team’s movement during live fire training on Fort Bragg, Sept. 9, 2013. The White Falcons, currently part of the Global Response Force, conducted a two-week intensive training cycle designed to reinforce combat skills for the nation’s airborne assault-capable, contingency unit.

(U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Jason Hull)

CONTINGENCY OPERATING BASE BASRAH, Iraq - Soldiers from 1st Battalion, 12th Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Advise and Assist Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division, assist Iraqi Police in packing bags of food for distribution. (U.S. Army Photo by Capt Patrick McElroy, 1st Bn. 12th Cav. Regt., 3AAB, 1st Cav. Div.)

Aerial porters from the Kentucky Air National Guard’s 123rd Contingency Response Group and a loadmaster from the 317th Airlift Group at Dyess Air Force Base, Texas, load humanitarian cargo onto a U.S. Air Force C-130J aircraft at Léopold Sédar Senghor International Airport in Dakar, Senegal, Nov. 10, 2014. The aircraft and crew, all from Dyess, are deployed to Senegal as part of the 787th Air Expeditionary Squadron and will fly the cargo into Monrovia, Liberia, in support of Operation United Assistance, the U.S. Agency for International Development-led, whole-of-government effort to contain the Ebola virus outbreak in West Africa. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Maj. Dale Greer)

CONTINGENCY OPERATING SITE WARRIOR, Iraq – Iraqi Army soldiers from 12th IA Division communicate and move while laying down suppressive fire on an objective for the multi-lateral exercise Lion’s Leap at the Mahgoor Training Site, April 19, 2011. During the exercise, Iraqi Security Forces aim to display their ability to increase defense capability and security for the sovereign state of Iraq.

(U.S. Army photo by Capt. Chad Ashe, USD-N PAO)