Aircraft security

Airman 1st Class Oscar Gomez-Villatoro, of the 319th Security Forces Squadron, talks with simulated foreign nationals during a Fly Away Security Team training session Sept. 17 at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla. The course, taught by 96th Ground Combat Training Squadron instructors, brought together security forces Airmen from McConnell AFB, Kansas and Grand Forks AFB, N.D., to learn how to protect aircraft and handle a potential hostile situation. (U.S. Air Force photo/Samuel King Jr.)

Combatives

Airman 1st Class Brandon Smith, of the 319th Security Forces Squadron, forces his opponent to submit during the “King of the Mat” competition at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., Sept. 17. The competition is part of their “Brave Defender” deployment training. The Airmen take the skills and techniques learned during their combatives course and put them into practice against one another. The training is administered by the 96th Ground Combat Training Squadron. More than 1,400 Airmen from across the Air Force attend the three-week courses each year. Smith went on to win the competition, never losing a match. (U.S. Air Force photo/Samuel King Jr.)

Combatives

Staff Sgt. Jackie Mendenhall tries to put Airman 1st Class Morgan Mayes, of the 319th Security Forces Squadron, into an “arm bar” hold during their “King of the Mat” match at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., Sept. 17. The Airmen take the skills and techniques learned during their combatives course and put them into practice against one another as part of their “Brave Defender” deployment training. The training is administered by the 96th Ground Combat Training Squadron. More than 1,400 Airmen from across the Air Force attend the three-week courses each year. (U.S. Air Force photo/Samuel King Jr.)

Combatives

Airman 1st Class Oscar Gomez-Villatoro, of the 319th Security Forces Squadron, puts his opponent in a choke hold during the “King of the Mat” competition at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., Sept. 17. The competition is part of their “Brave Defender” deployment training. The Airmen take the skills and techniques learned during their combatives course and put them into practice against one another. The training is administered by the 96th Ground Combat Training Squadron. More than 1,400 Airmen from across the Air Force attend the three-week courses each year. (U.S. Air Force photo/Samuel King Jr.)

Salute

The pilot and crew chief salute each other as the F-16 Fighting Falcon taxies toward the runway for another sortie Sept. 6 at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla. Approximately 36 Luke Air Force Base Airmen, assigned to the 309th, maintain four F-16s used as chase aircraft for F-35 flights and to maintain pilot proficiency. Airmen from Luke’s various F-16 maintenance squadrons have been rotating to Eglin to support this mission since January 2011. (U.S. Air Force photo/Samuel King Jr.)

Another success

Senior Airman Branden Palmer, of the 309th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, gives a celebratory fist pump after marshalling out an F-16 Fighting Falcon for another sortie Sept. 6 at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla. Approximately 36 Luke Air Force Base Airmen, assigned to the 309th, maintain four F-16s used as chase aircraft for F-35 flights and to maintain pilot proficiency. Airmen from Luke’s various F-16 maintenance squadrons have been rotating to Eglin to support this mission since January 2011. (U.S. Air Force photo/Samuel King Jr.)