Defender's Challenge

Airman 1st Class Quin Reed, 387th Expeditionary Security Forces Squadron, participates in the Humvee push during the Defender's Challenge competition at the 386th Air Expeditionary Wing. The Defender’s Challenge pitted ten four-person fire teams, in a six event timed competition consisting of a gear relay, Humvee push and down gunner litter relay, weapons knowledge, unexploded ordnance recognition and a job knowledge questionnaire. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Master Sgt. George Thompson)

C-17 supplying Southwest Asia

U.S. Air Force 1st Lt. Thomas Carr, 816th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron pilot, uses night vision goggles to scan for threats on a C-17 Globemaster III Nov. 10, 2012, Southwest Asia. The 816th EAS provides global strategic airlift, airdrop, aeromedical evacuation and humanitarian relief, creating an air bridge for personnel, equipment and supplies. Carr's hometown is Topeka, Kan. (U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Jonathan Snyder)

Defend the region: fly-away security

U.S. Air Force Senior Airman Stephen Gonzalas, 633rd Expeditionary Civil Engineering Squadron, travels to his destination on a U.S. Air Force C-130J Super Hercules Dec. 5, 2012, over Afghanistan. The 772nd Expeditionary Airlift Squadron provides tactical airlift, airdrop and aeromedical evacuation, creating an air bridge for personnel, equipment and supplies. Gonzalas’s hometown is Palm Bay, Fla. (U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Jonathan Snyder)

Defend the region: fly-away security

U.S. Air Force Senior Airman Edward Rice, 451st Expeditionary Security Forces Squadron, secures the perimeter around a U.S. Air Force C-130J Super Hercules Dec. 2, 2012, at a forward operating base in Afghanistan. When an aircraft lands at locations with little to no security on the landing strip, fly-away security teams come along to provide additional protection for the aircraft and crew. Rice's hometown is Allen Park, Mich. (U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Jonathan Snyder)

TCM Celebrates Martin Luther King Jr. Day

Staff Sgt. Codi Carter, 376th Expeditionary Security Forces Squadron canine handler, reads a quote from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I have a dream" speech during a presentation at the Transit Center at Manas, Kyrgyzstan, Jan. 21, 2013. "Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice," Carter read from King's speech. (U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Stephanie Rubi)

Bite in the fight

SOUTHWEST ASIA -- U.S. Air Force Maj. Tad Tholstrom, 380th Air Expeditionary Medical Group chief of dental services, provides dental care to several thousand service members while deployed to the 380th Air Expeditionary Wing. Tholstrom, deployed from Travis Air Force Base, Calif., stressed the importance of oral hygeine due to the increased risk for cavities while deployed. (U.S. Air Force photo/Tech. Sgt. Christina M. Styer)