Previous “Military Weekends” have focused on our military training, flying, fighting and doing the things military do, but also on our troops fighting wildfires, rendering humanitarian assistance during disasters, and coming home to happy reunions with their loved ones.
This time the focus is on children — at home and around the world — and our military’s interactions with them, whether it is providing medical care, teaching, singing and dancing with them or just reading to them.
Enjoy and have a great weekend.
U.S. Navy Lt. Cmdr. William Hill, an optometrist, examines a patient’s eye at a Continuing Promise 2015 medical site at a grammar school in Roseau, Dominica, July 31, 2015. The operation conducts humanitarian and other civil-military missions in partner nations and shows U.S. support and commitment to Central and South America and the Caribbean.
U.S. Air Force Maj. Melanie Englert shows a Latvian orphan her camera during the reconstruction of the Naujenu Orphanage near Daugavpils, Latvia, July 20, 2015. Airmen from the Missouri Air National Guard’s 139th Civil Engineer Squadron were participating in a humanitarian civic assistance project pairing units’ training requirements with humanitarian needs. Englert is a public affairs officer assigned to the 139th Airlift Wing.
Navy Petty Officer 3rd Class Danlie Cuenca dances with children as Navy musicians perform during Fargo Navy Week in Fargo, N.D., July 22, 2015. The Navy Week program is designed to raise awareness about the Navy in areas that traditionally do not have a significant naval presence. Cuenca is assigned to Navy Band Great Lakes.
U.S. Petty Officer 3rd Class Dearra Horton holds a snake to show students from the Aboriginal and Islander Independent Community School during a community service event at Burringilly Aboriginal Corporation in Brisbane, Australia, July 21, 2015. Horton is a culinary specialist assigned to the USS Blue Ridge, which is visiting Brisbane while patrolling the 7th Fleet area of operations.
Master Chief Equipmentman Douglas Tennyson, a Seabee assigned to Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 5, shows students different types of camera effects at the Maningisda Elementary School construction site.
U.S. Navy Cmdr. William Cavill examines a child before her surgery aboard Military Sealift Command hospital ship USNS Comfort during Continuing Promise 2015 in Roseau, Dominica, Aug. 3, 2015. The medical care is part of Continuing Promise, a civil-military effort that includes humanitarian-civil assistance, subject matter expert exchanges, medical, dental, veterinary and engineering support. Cavill is an anesthesiologist assigned to Naval Hospital Pensacola Fla.
Musicians assigned to the U.S. Navy Fleet Forces Band, Uncharted Waters, play for children at Hogar La Asuncin, an orphanage in Puerto Barrios, Guatemala during a community relations event in support of Continuing Promise 2015. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Deven Leigh Ellis.
Lt. Cmdr. Melissa Buryl, from Canton, Ohio, a pediatrician stationed at Naval Medical Center Portsmouth, Va., checks a child’s vital signs at the Hattieville Government School. The school is one of two medical mission sites set up for medical personnel from the Military Sealift Command hospital ship USNS Comfort (T-AH 20) to provide services during Continuing Promise 2015. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Kameren Guy Hodnett)
Sailors assigned to the U.S. 7th Fleet amphibious command flagship USS Blue Ridge (LCC 19) visit with a patient at The Children’s Hospital at Westmead in Sydney
Finally, at the highest levels of our military:
Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, interacts with children at the 21st annual seminar and Good Grief Camp for Young Survivors through the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors in Arlington, Va., May 22, 2015. The program, known as TAPS, offers support for military families who have lost a family member serving in the military.
Lead photo: Construction Mechanic 3rd Class Andrew Wade, a Seabee assigned to Naval Mobile Construction Battalion (NMCB) 5, reads to local children during his lunch break at Aloguinsan Elementary School.
All photos and captions: DOD
Follow Dorian de Wind on Twitter: www.twitter.com/ddewind99
The author is a retired U.S. Air Force officer and a writer.