Spotlight

Face of Defense

Get to know the nation's service members; find out who they are, what they do, why they serve and how they spend their time out of uniform.

Stories

SPOTLIGHTS

Photos

A Marine shouts while Marines hold their hands in the air while performing warmups on a gloomy day.

Recruits Ready - Marine Corps Staff Sgt. Vallessca Hernandez guides recruits through warmups before their Marine Corps Martial Arts Program class at Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego, Calif., Sept. 30, 2024. The program is designed to strengthen the mental and moral resiliency of individual recruits and Marines through realistic combative training, warrior ethos studies and physical hardening.

A close-up of a sailor doing a pullup under a cloudy, blue sky.

Head in the Clouds - A sailor participates in a Marine Corps pullup challenge during San Francisco Fleet Week, Oct. 11, 2024. Fleet Week is a time-honored sea service celebration that allows citizens to witness today’s maritime capabilities firsthand.

A sailor and a classroom of students raise their hands in unison.

Pacific Cheer - Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Paul Thompson, a musician with the Pacific Partnership 2024-2 Band, engages elementary school students in Kosrae, Micronesia, Sept. 18, 2024. Pacific Partnership is the largest annual multinational humanitarian assistance and disaster relief preparedness mission in the Indo-Pacific region.

Several guardians stand in formation and speak with their right hands raised.

Guardians' Oath - Guardians recite the oath of enlistment during a graduation parade at Joint Base San Antonio, Oct. 17, 2024.

Two U.S. Air Force Academy cadets look at each other while carrying large parachutes over their shoulders inside a locker room.

Halo Team - Air Force Halo skydiving team members Cadets 1st Class Abby Halasi-Kun and Allison Henderson pack parachutes after training at Davis Airfield in Colorado Springs, Colo., Sept. 28, 2024. Halo is one of two all-female skydiving teams in the U.S. Air Force Academy Wings of Blue parachuting program.

A child sits on the shoulders of a pilot and points to a part on an aircraft.

Flight Line Focus - Air Force Capt. Ethan Jensen, a pilot assigned to the 91st Air Refueling Squadron, shows his son, Soren Jensen, a KC-135 Stratotanker at MacDill Air Force Base, Fla., Oct. 22, 2024. As part of a Halloween event, Soren dressed to match his father and toured the flight line to see where he works everyday.

A close-up of a soldier smiling while holding a smiling loved one.

Feel the Love - A soldier greets a loved one following a redeployment ceremony at Fort Liberty, N.C., June 24, 2024.

Soldiers in formal uniforms stand in line at attention in a cemetery on a sunny day. Some soldiers hold flags.

Arlington Ceremony - Soldiers assigned to the 1st Special Forces Command (Airborne) hold a wreath-laying ceremony at the gravesite of former President John F. Kennedy at Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Va., Oct. 17, 2024. The ceremony is held annually to commemorate President Kennedy’s contributions to the Army’s Special Forces.