A soldier with the 4th Infantry Division competes in Fort Benning, Georgia's annual Best Ranger competition, a three-day exercise in which Ranger-qualified soldiers test their mettle. (Sgt. Woodlyne Escarne/U.S. Army)
Related: The Army Is Looking for Its Best Rangers, Snipers and Hand-to-Hand Fighters
U.S. Marine Corps 1st Lt. Alixandra Valenti, a communications officer with Combat Logistics Regiment 17, 1st Marine Logistics Group, I Marine Expeditionary Force, poses with her trophy after being recognized as Camp Pendleton's Female Marine Athlete of the Year. (Cpl. Angela Wilcox/U.S. Marine Corps)
Related: How the Extreme Athlete Prepares for the Military
A Philippine Marine launches an unmanned aircraft system, or UAS, during a joint-U.S. exercise at Cagayan Airfield, Philippines. (Cpl. Eric Huynh/U.S. Marine Corps)
Related: US, Philippines Hold Largest War Drills Near Disputed Waters
U.S. and Philippine Marines engage in martial arts. (Sgt. Patrick King/U.S. Marine Corps)
Related: Is Your Martial Arts Training Backward?
Apache helicopters prepare to conduct aerial gunnery at Fort Wainwright, Alaska. (Eve Baker/Fort Wainwright Public Affairs Office)
Related: AH-64 Apache Longbow
Maj. Gen. JP McGee, commanding general of the 101st Airborne Division, renders honors during a memorial ceremony April 13, 2023, in Clarksville, Tennessee. The ceremony was held to honor the nine soldiers from Charlie Company, 6th Battalion, 101st Combat Aviation Brigade, killed in a helicopter accident March 29, 2023. (Pfc. Matthew Wantroba/U.S. Army)
Related: In Wake of Fatal Black Hawk Crash, Renewed Scrutiny of the Helicopter's Safety Record
-- Drew F. Lawrence can be reached at drew.lawrence@military.com. Follow him on Twitter @df_lawrence.
![Members of Bashar Assad's army line up to register with Syrian rebels in Damascus, Syria.](http://images04.military.com/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail_large/public/2024-12/ApNewsroom_Syria_93981.jpg?itok=KtmjProB "Members of Bashar Assad's army, or a pro-government militia, line up to register with Syrian rebels as part of an "identification and reconciliation process" in Damascus, Syria, Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)")
![A Danish soldier onboard the Danish warship Esbern Snare.](http://images05.military.com/sites/default/files/styles/thumbnail_large/public/2024-12/ApNewsroom_Cyprus_Syria_83465.jpg?itok=FpC0C1Xo "FILE - A Danish soldier onboard the Danish warship "Esbern Snare" as the Danish cargo ship Ark Futura, background, transports Syria's dangerous chemical weapons out of the strife-torn country, out of Cyprus coastal city of Larnaca, on Tuesday, May 13, 2014. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias, File)")
