As fewer Americans serve in the armed forces, the difficulty of translating the experience of military service to a wider public becomes increasingly challenging. But sometimes a picture tells a thousand words, as in this selection of winners from the 2011 Military Photographer of the Year competition, which was recently judged at the Defense Information School at Ft. George G. Meade, Maryland. Combat photography began in earnest during the Civil War, when President Abraham Lincoln commissioned Mathew Brady to document the war, eventually leading to an invaluable trove of photographs used by generations of historians. Today, hundreds of U.S. military photographers, videographers, and artists continue to document armed services activities around the world. These photos were chosen from thousands of entries and adhere to the same standards as photojournalism (meaning no posed or electronically manipulated images).  

Above, U.S. Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Reagan Lodge, Headquarters and Service Battalion, Marine Corps Base Quantico, conducts water running exercises during a physical training session in Ramer Hall, on Marine Corps Base in Quantico, Virginia on Sept. 14.

Lance Cpl. Sharon D. Kyle/U.S. Marine Corps

 

Service members from the Iraq Air Force and U.S. Air Force show off for each other atop a hardened aircraft shelter at Sather Air Base in Iraq while doing a joint patrol of the flight line.

SSgt. Joshua L. DeMotts/U.S. Air Force

A candidate from Officer Candidate School swims through icy waters during the Quigley in order to complete a combat course at Marine Corps Base Quantico, Virginia, on Jan. 29. The Quigley involves going through obstacles in water and includes a full immersion underwater exercise.

Lance Cpl. Christina O'Neil/U.S. Marine Corps

Members of the U.S. Army Parachute Team -- Sgt. 1st Class John Berentis, from Yuma, Arizona and Staff Sgt. Laura Dickmeyer, from Abilene, Texas -- assess the wind conditions prior to their pre-game jump into FedEx field for the Army vs. Navy game on Dec. 10. Last year was the first time in the game's 120-year history that the teams have played within the Capitol beltway.

Mass Communications Specialist Second Class Clifford L. H. Davis/U.S. Navy

U.S. Army soldiers assigned to Company C, 2nd Battalion, 327th Infantry Regiment, Task Force No Slack, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, say farewell during a memorial service for six fallen soldiers at Forward Operating Base Joyce in eastern Afghanistan's Kunar Province on April 9. 

Sgt. 1st Class Mark Burrell/U.S. Army

Staff Sgt. Angel Alvarez, assigned to the Warrior Training Center in Fort Lee, Virginia, cocks back to throw a pyrotechnic grenade simulator into the sky during a night fire event during the 2011 Department of the Army Best Warrior Competition on Oct. 5. During the event, the warriors fire while pyrotechnics explode all around them.

Sgt. Sean K. Harp/U.S. Army

A Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Agent pulls security for his teammates after executing a drug raid on a high value target at the Stennis Space Center as part of Emerald Warrior on Mar. 3. Emerald Warrior is a U.S. Special Operations Command-sponsored, multiservice exercise designed to leverage lessons learned from Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom to provide trained and ready forces to combatant commanders.

SSgt Jonathan Lovelady/U.S. Air Force

Senior Airman John Fitzgerald, a medic attached to Laghman Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT), hangs a bag of fluids to to keep Staff Sgt. Jason Roberts hydrated during a multi-day operation on Aug. 21 in Alingar District in the Laghman Province of Afghanistan. The PRT, combined with assets from the 45th Infantry Brigade, conducted a cordon and search in a village thought to be home to IED makers and Taliban fighters.

SSgt. Ryan Crane/U.S. Air Force

An AC-130U Gunship from the 4th Special Operations Squadron flies a local training mission on Jan. 27 at Hurlburt Field, Florida. The AC-130U "Spooky" gunship is the primary weapon of Air Force Special Operations Command. Its primary missions are close air support, air interdiction, and armed reconnaissance.

MSgt. Jeremy Lock/U.S. Air Force

Tech. Sgt. Milo Hinson, 3rd Combat Camera Squadron, uses a flash light while shooting a Berretta 9 mm pistol during the night-fire portion of Advance Weapons, Tactics, and Techniques training Oct. 4 in San Antonio, Texas. During night-fire training, airmen learn how to tactically illuminate targets with flash lights and practice the use of night-vision goggles.

SSgt. Jonathan Snyder/U.S. Air Force

An Army Ranger trainee gets "turtled" while repelling and can't regain his balance due to a 80-pound pack during the mountain phase of Army Ranger School at Camp Frank D. Merrill, Georgia.

TSgt. Bennie J. Davis III/U.S. Air Force

 

A father salutes the casket of his son on March 23. Buckley Air Force Base honored Lance Cpl. Christopher Mies when he arrived home.

SrA Marcy Glass/U.S. Air Force

Ken Swigart stares off into the Grand Canyon, where the Flagstaff Community Toys For Tots Organization will deliver toys to the children of the Havasupai tribe. Swigart, a retired Navy lieutenant commander, joins U.S. Marines to deliver toys to the Native American tribe.

Sgt. A.J. Parson/U.S. Marine Corps

A young girl cools off and swims in a stream of water that flows from under a broken street on Sep. 18 in Baucau, Timor-Leste.

MSgt. Jeremy Lock/U.S. Air Force

Red team athletes Sean M. Mckinney and Maurice Honeywood show their game faces as they pull against the blue team during the annual Manpower, Personnel, and Administration Directorate Field Meet at Marine Corps Base Hawaii on March 17. The directorate gathers each year to promote camaraderie and unit cohesion, but teams also strive to win the MP&A Field Meet Trophy.

Cpl. Tyler L. Main/U.S. Marine Corps

A local Cambodian woman smiles in excitement after receiving a pass to be seen by U.S military doctors during a medical outreach in Cambodia.

TSgt. Aaron D. Allmon II/U.S. Air Force

A local Monk receives a new prescription for glasses during a U.S. military medical outreach in Cambodia.

TSgt. Aaron D. Allmon II/U.S. Air Force

U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Patrick Reynolds, Security Forces squad leader attached to Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) Zabul, fights raging water while holding onto a tow strap attached to an Afghan National Army (ANA) vehicle stuck in the Lurah River in Shinkai District, Afghanistan on Oct. 12. The ANA asked PRT Zabul for assistance because of the PRT's vehicle recovery capabilities and because of their great working relationship after conducting frequent joint operations in the Shinkai District.

SrA. Grovert Fuentes-Contreras/U.S. Air Force

As the snow falls, U.S. Army Spc. David A. Brooks, a chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear specialist from Virginia Beach, Virginia, assigned to Forward Support Company G, 2nd Battalion, 320th Field Artillery Regiment, Task Force Balls, provides security during a recent convoy in eastern Afghanistan's Nangarhar Province on Feb. 28. The convoy from Jalalabad to Bagram Airfield took more than 12 hours.

Sgt. 1st Class Mark Burrell/U.S. Army