Amphibious transport dock ship USS New Orleans (LPD 18) hosted deck-landing qualifications (DLQs) for Marine Corps AH-1Z Cobra attack helicopters during a pre-deployment exercise, Aug. 11.

Declared combat-ready by the U.S. Marine Corps in September 2010, the AH-1Z Cobra will undergo its first operational deployment as part of Amphibious Squadron (PHIBRON) 5 later this year.

The helicopters are assigned to Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron (HMM) 268, part of the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit's aviation combat element.

Training to retake a hijacked seagoing vessel, maritime raiders boarded their floating objective miles from Southern California's San Clemente Island Aug. 14, while overhead, helicopters flew unseen snipers and heavy guns.

The raid force’s assault element – Marines and sailors serving with the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit – launched from USS New Orleans on Navy rigid-hulled inflatable boats, executing counter-piracy and counter-terrorism tactics rehearsed days before – essentially visiting, boarding, searching and seizing an ocean vessel.

Military Sealift Command hospital ship USNS Comfort (T-AH 20) responded to a request to medically evacuate (MEDEVAC) a resident from a remote village in Bajo Blay, Costa Rica, to paramedics waiting in a nearby town Aug. 10.

Jose Morales Moya, 14, mishandled a loaded rifle and shot himself in the right foot. Due to the remote location and lack of roads leading to Moya's village, Costa Rican authorities requested helicopter transport assistance from Comfort.

CAMP ARIFJAN, Kuwait -- Third Army servicemembers conducted a mass-casualty exercise to validate incident response and exercise reporting procedures here Aug. 6.

The exercise scenario had a 25-passenger bus with a notional bomb attempting to drive through the gate. The exercise evaluated reaction to the detonation of the bomb, which hypothetically injured several Soldiers.

“My job at the MASCAL (mass casualty) scenario was to role play as a casualty victim,” said Sgt. Nicholas Davis with the 160th Signal Brigade South West Asia Cyber Center, Kuwait.

The Navy SEALs and Army joined forces in late July in a high-altitude low opening, or HALO, training exercise.

A Pennsylvania Army National Guard aviation unit manned a Shorts C-23 Sherpa aircraft, while a SEAL team made several skydives.

“We’re able to give them exactly what they wanted and they really appreciated it,” said Chief Warrant Officer 4 Chris Sager, Detachment 1, D Company, 126th Theatre Airplane Company, commander and pilot.

When a hazardous material emergency, biochemical threat or terrorist attack is imminent, the members of the Hazardous Incident Response Team are the first on the scene.

Their purpose is to serve and protect service members, their families and citizens of the local community by neutralizing and eliminating any and chemical threats that occur on the island.

When they are not responding to chemical spills, the team is no less diligent, checking equipment and running drills to ensure they stay proficient at their craft and remain ready to handle any incident that may occur.

Vice Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Jonathan W. Greenert awarded the Navy and Marine Corps Medal to a master-at-arms 3rd class during an award ceremony, Aug. 10, aboard Display Ship (DS) Barry at the Washington Navy Yard.

MA3 Quentin Benjamin earned the Navy's second-highest noncombat medal for his heroic actions July 19, 2010, while on leave in his hometown of Goose Creek, S.C.

More than 200 paratroopers from six NATO countries participated in airborne jump operations during International Jump Week Aug. 8 through 11.

Paratroopers from Germany, the United Kingdom, Italy, Denmark, the Netherlands and the U.S. Air Force, Marine Corps and Army jumped out of aircraft from Papa Air Base, Hungary; Peterson Air Force Base, Colo.; and the 37th Airlift Squadron here.

Service members got the chance to jump under the command of foreign jumpmasters and guided their chutes toward a small drop zone in southwestern Germany.

Representative Peter King (R-NY), the Chairman of the House Committee on Homeland Security, has requested that the Defense Department Inspector General and the CIA Inspector General investigate to determine if Academy Award-winning director Kathryn Bigelow’s proposed film on the takedown of Osama bin Laden would compromise military and intelligence community secrets.