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Not even Santa can escape our radar. Here are some of the DOD's holiday traditions. - Not even Santa can escape our radar. Here are some of the DOD's holiday traditions.

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Celebrating Holiday Troop Traditions

A picture of a photographer with a set of images overlaying the background. - The men and women of the U.S. military who train and conduct operations around the world are also family members, friends and neighbors with a range of interests. Get a glimpse into their lives and their work as we turn to military photographers for a chronicle of the year.

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DOD in Photos: 2018

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Watch: 60 Second Snapshot

A service member rock climbs.
Climbing to the Top
0:59
Soldiers from I Corps, the 593rd Expeditionary Sustainment Command and other U.S. Army units joined soldiers from the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force’s Northern Japan Army to mark the start of exercise Yama Sakura 75 with food, conversation and cultural activities at Camp Higashi Chitose in Hokkaido, Japan, Dec. 10, 2018. Yama Sakura, which means mountain cherry blossom, is a bilateral command post exercise in which U.S. and Japanese forces exchange ideas, techniques, military experience and exercise capabilities. The exercise highlights the strength of the close, long-standing relationship between the two nations.
Yama Sakura Cultural Exchange
1:00
Air Force Staff Sgt. Eric Mann is a military broadcast journalist. At least, that’s his day job. He spends his off duty time working on a very large and very heavy family heirloom. It's an old antique tractor handed down from his grandfather.
A Man and His Tractor
1:00
An Airman greets a civilian.
Life on a Nigerien Air Base
1:00
Navy Ensign Paden Smith holds a dog in his arms.
Diagnosing Success
1:00
Flight deck operations on an aircraft carrier have often been compared to a ballet. Watch the choreography needed to launch and recover aircraft and supplies aboard the USS Harry S. Truman. The Truman can carry about 90 aircraft and has a 4.5-acre flight deck. Four elevators move aircraft between the flight deck and the hangar bay.
Choreography of a Launch
1:00
The Point Blank exercise is designed and co-hosted by the U.S. Air Force’s 48th Fighter Wing and the British Royal Air Force.
U.S., Britain Engage in Point Blank Defense
1:00

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Know Your Military

Discover more about the men and women who serve in your military — who they are, what they do and why they do it.

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Observe: Top Photos

Marine Corps recruits march.
Recruit March
An airman reaches through some cables.
Cable Capability
Soldiers march through a field with a color guard and a dog.
Pass in Review
A sailor paints part of an airplane.
Refining a Fitting
A service member carries a power cable.
Cargo Operations
Marines and sailors sing and play instruments at night.
Arlington Show
A Marine kicks a bag being held by another Marine.
Kearsarge Kick
A sailor checks a compass.
Compass Check.
A member of the Coast Guard cleans snow off a boat.
First Snowfall
A Marine jumps out of the back of an helicopter flying over mountains.
Incoming
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