3rd Infantry Division soldiers man fighting positions inside a trench during a force-on-force battle at the Army’s National Training Center at Fort Irwin in California’s Mojave Desert on Feb. 27, 2023. (Corey Dickstein/Stars and Stripes)

Paratroopers jump from a Japan Air Self-Defense Force Kawasaki C-2 Greyhound over Camp Narashino in Chiba prefecture, Japan, Jan. 8, 2023. (Kelly Agee/Stars and Stripes)

Members of Taiwan’s 564th Armored Brigade pose with their flag after demonstrating their ability to repel an airborne attack near Kaohsiung, Taiwan, Jan. 11, 2023. (Seth Robson/Stars and Stripes)

A helicopter is secured on the deck of the landing platform dock Yushan at Zuoying Naval Base, Taiwan, Jan. 12, 2023. (Seth Robson/Stars and Stripes)

International defense officials listen to a video message from Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during the Ukraine Defense Contact Group meeting on Jan. 20, 2023, at Ramstein Air Base, Germany. Zelenskyy expressed thanks for continued support but said new defense commitment will be needed for Ukraine to be able to bolster its defenses against continued Russian aggression and ahead of a feared spring offensive. (Alexander Riedel/Stars and Stripes)

A team member with the 2nd Cavalry Regiment simulates using a Javelin to ambush enemy tanks during the Dragoon Ready exercise on Jan. 29, 2023, at the Joint Multinational Readiness Center in Hohenfels, Germany. (Michael Slavin/Stars and Stripes)

C-130J Super Hercules aircraft assigned to the 36th and 327th Airlift Squadrons prepare to take off at Yokota Air Base, Japan, Jan. 31, 2023. (Kelly Agee/Stars and Stripes)

A dummy is carried off the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan during a radiation-leak drill at Yokosuka Naval Base, Japan, Feb. 2, 2023. (Akifumi Ishikawa/Stars and Stripes)

Edgren Middle High School students compete in the Far East Culinary Arts Competition at Yokota Air Base, Japan, Feb. 7, 2023. (Kelly Agee/Stars and Stripes)

The children of Lt. Gen. Hal and Julia Moore, for whom Fort Benning will be renamed, visit their parents’ grave on the Georgia Army post on Feb. 17, 2023. Pictured from left to right are Dave Moore, Cecile Moore Rainey, Steve Moore and Greg Moore, who along with their sister Julie Moore Orlowski, nominated their parents as the new namesakes for Fort Benning after Congress began the process to rename installations named for Confederate generals in 2021. (Corey Dickstein/Stars and Stripes)

Marines apply a tourniquet to a mock casualty during the Bushido Strike exercise at Dagmar North Training Area in Paju, South Korea, Feb. 21, 2023. (David Choi/Stars and Stripes)

Senior Airman Robin Mercer and Staff Sgt. Colton Panizo push a pallet of humanitarian aid off a cargo plane while deployed to Incirlik Air Base, Turkey, Feb. 22, 2023. Mercer, normally assigned to the 721st Aerial Port Squadron in Ramstein Air Base, Germany, deployed to Turkey on short notice in the aftermath of the Feb. 6 earthquakes. (J.P. Lawrence/Stars and Stripes)

U.S. and German soldiers ascend about 250 steps before returning with buckets full of cement on Feb. 23, 2023. They were helping the locals with repair work in St. Goar, Germany. (Phillip Walter Wellman/Stars and Stripes)

A hand-painted sign calls for U.S. forces to go home during a protest march in downtown Ramstein-Miesebach, Germany, on Feb. 26, 2023. "Ami" is a German abbreviated term for "American," often used in a derogatory way. (Alexander Riedel/Stars and Stripes)

Soldiers with the Army’s 1st Battalion, 9th Field Artillery Regiment of the 3rd Infantry Division’s 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team convoy their M109A7 Paladin howitzers across the National Training Center at Fort Irwin, Calif., during a training exercise Feb. 26, 2023. The M109A7 is the Army’s newest howitzer, and 2nd ABCT will deploy them to Europe late this summer. (Corey Dickstein/Stars and Stripes)

Vedat Tan twirls an Afghan rug at his shop in an area known as "American Alley" outside the gate of Incirlik Air Base in southern Turkey on Feb. 27, 2023. Tan said recent earthquakes forced him to live in his car for almost two weeks, and that neighbors died in the disaster. (J.P. Lawrence/Stars and Stripes)

Vietnam veteran retired Army Col. Paris Davis looks out and thanks the audience as he is applauded moments after receiving the Medal of Honor from President Joe Biden during a ceremony at the White House on March 3, 2023. (Carlos Bongioanni/Stars and Stripes)

Members of Delta Battery walk on March 7, 2023, in southeast Poland, with a streamer they were awarded in February for being the best Patriot crew of the Army's 5th Battalion, 7th Air Defense Artillery Regiment. (Phillip Walter Wellman/Stars and Stripes)

The country music duo War Hippies — Marine veteran and guitarist Scooter Brown, right, and Army veteran and violinist Donnie Reis, left — perform March 9, 2023, at MadLife Stage & Studios in Woodstock, Ga., just north of Atlanta. Brown and Reis served in Iraq before embarking on music careers after leaving the military. (Corey Dickstein/Stars and Stripes)

The Kai family leaves the scene of the accident after a DODEA school bus tipped over March 10, 2023, near Weilerbach, Germany, with 16 students on board. One student was taken to Landstuhl Regional Medical Center with minor injuries, authorities at the Weilerbach firehouse said. (Alexander Riedel/Stars and Stripes)

Airman Emma Gantner, right, looks over at 1. FC Kaiserslautern midfielder Aaron Basenach toward the end of a flexed-arm hang challenge at Northside Gym on Ramstein Air Base, Germany, March 23, 2023, during a visit by the professional soccer team to the base. Gantner earned a German armed forces badge for military proficiency last year. (Matt Wagner/Stars and Stripes)

Jeanette Chervony and Chief Master Sgt. Kyle Mullen, a member of the Space Force, attend a wreath laying ceremony at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C., on March 29, 2023, to commemorate National Vietnam War Veterans Day. (Carlos Bongioanni/Stars and Stripes)

Army Air Forces 2nd Lt. Wayne Dyer, who died during combat on May 29, 1944, during World War II, was buried April 10, 2023, at Central Texas State Veterans Cemetery in Killeen, Texas. Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency identified Dyer’s remains in September. (Rose L. Thayer/Stars and Stripes)

Air Force Staff Sgt. Charles Prete, a defense courier and MMA fighter stationed at Yokota Air Base, Japan, trains at Alpha Reversal Gym in Tachikawa, April 12, 2023. (Kelly Agee/Stars and Stripes)

Nicholas Trans, left, hauled in the first rainbow trout of the inaugural Sakana Trout Fishing Derby at Yokota Air Base, Japan, April 15, 2023. (Kelly Agee/Stars and Stripes)

Air Force Capt. Alex Atwood, a pilot for the 36th Airlift Squadron, gives Japanese university students a tour of a C-130J Super Hercules at Yokota Air Base, Japan, April 20, 2023. (Kelly Agee/Stars and Stripes)

Members of the 319th Airborne Field Artillery Regiment salute in formation while paratroopers complete their jump during the opening moments of the drop zone renaming ceremony in honor of Cpl. Emmanuel Hernandez at Grafenwoehr, Germany, on April 20, 2023. (Michael Slavin/Stars and Stripes)

Members of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force ride modified mopeds during Spring Festival at Naval Air Facility Atsugi, Japan, April 22, 2023. (Akifumi Ishikawa/Stars and Stripes)

An Outlaw G2 unmanned aerial vehicle is launched into the air to serve as a target during exercise Balikatan live fire event at Naval Station Leovigildo Gantioqui, San Antonio, Philippines, on April 25, 2023. (Jonathan Snyder/Stars and Stripes)

Army Sgt. Christian Awuku celebrates after graduating with a bachelors degree from the University of Maryland Global Campus, April 29, 2023. (Phillip Walter Wellman/Stars and Stripes)

Cub Scouts with Yokosuka Pack 33 take part in a flag retirement ceremony at Ikego West Valley Campground near Yokosuka Naval Base, Japan, May 6, 2023. (Akifumi Ishikawa/Stars and Stripes)

U.S. Army Chief of Staff Gen. James McConville visits a memorial for fallen Japanese soldiers at Camp Ichigaya in Tokyo, May 8, 2023. (Seth Robson/Stars and Stripes)

Senior Airman Michael McDougall presents a combat flag to Yokota High School during a ceremony at Yokota Air Base, Japan, May 11, 2023. (Akifumi Ishikawa/Stars and Stripes)

UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters fly over Doughboy Stadium at Fort Moore, Ga., during a ceremony May 11, 2023, to mark the change in name of the former Fort Benning to Fort Moore. (Corey Dickstein/Stars and Stripes)

Applause rises from a crowd attending the opening ceremony on May 11, 2023, of a three-day event in Washington, D.C., to honor Vietnam War veterans. In the center of the first row is retired Army Sgt. 1st Class Melvin Morris, who was awarded the Medal of Honor for his extraordinary heroism during a 1969 battle in Vietnam. (Carlos Bongioanni/Stars and Stripes)

Soldiers carry out a change-of-command ceremony for the 2nd Infantry Division at Camp Humphreys, South Korea, May 16, 2023. (David Choi/Stars and Stripes)

An actor taking part in an earthquake-response drill is handled by an intensive care unit at Yokosuka Naval Base, Japan, May 17, 2023. (Akifumi Ishikawa/Stars and Stripes)

The commander of Naval Forces Japan, Rear Adm. Carl Lahti, lays a wreath during a memorial service at Gyokusenji Temple in Shimoda, Japan, May 19, 2023. The service was part of the city's 84th annual Black Ship Festival. (Akifumi Ishikawa/Stars and Stripes)

Friendship Festival visitors check out a C-130J Super Hercules and CV-22 Osprey at Yokota Air Base in western Tokyo, May 20, 2023. (Juan King/Stars and Stripes)

First Lady Jill Biden delivers the key note speech during the Matthew C. Perry High School graduation ceremony at Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni on May, 21, 2023. (Jonathan Snyder/Stars and Stripes)

A U.S. Navy color guard present the colors at the Memorial Day ceremony at Lorraine American Cemetery in St. Avold, France, May 28, 2023. Behind the sailors are some of the cemetery’s 10,481 graves. (Michael Abrams/Stars and Stripes)

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel visit Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Tokyo, June 1, 2023. (Akifumi Ishikawa/Stars and Stripes)

Lt. Gen. Chris Donahue leads the first-ever Sunset Liberty March on June 1, 2023, alongside Gold Star Mothers Patti Elliott, left, and Maureen Miller, right, at what was then Fort Bragg, N.C. The former Fort Bragg was renamed Fort Liberty the next morning. Elliot’s son Army Spc. Daniel Lucas Eliott was killed in Iraq in 2011. Miller’s son, Green Beret Staff Sgt. Robert Miller, was killed in Afghanistan in 2008 and posthumously received the Medal of Honor. (Corey Dickstein/Stars and Stripes)

Dianne Mangum accepts a flag to honor her uncle Pvt. Myron Elton Williams at Central Texas State Veterans Cemetery in Killeen, Texas, on June 2, 2023. Williams died in November 1944 during the Battle of Hurtgen Forest in Germany during World War II, but his remains were only identified July 13, 2022. (Rose L. Thayer/Stars and Stripes)

Air Force Capt. Samantha Stilwell, 86th Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron medical crew director, gives litter-bearers the go-ahead to board a C-130H Hercules during a medical evacuation exercise June 6, 2023, at Ramstein Air Base, Germany. (Alexander Riedel/Stars and Stripes)

Following a ceremony at the National World War II Memorial in Washington on June 6, 2023, veteran Lincoln Harner meets Thatcher Roosevelt, the great-great grandson of the man who was commander-in-chief when Harner and thousands of other Americans took part in the invasion of Normandy in June 1944. Thatcher’s father, Elliott Roosevelt III, was the keynote speaker at a D-Day anniversary ceremony during which a monument bearing President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s prayer to the nation as the invasion unfolded was dedicated. (Joe Gromelski/Special to Stars and Stripes)

Bill O’Connor, nephew of U.S. Army Air Forces 2nd Lt. Edward O'Connor, holds flowers for a U.S. B-29 Superfortress crew while visiting Tokyo Bay on June 9, 2023. His uncle died when the bomber went down in the bay on March 10, 1945. (Akifumi Ishikawa/Stars and Stripes)

Soldiers celebrate the U.S. Army’s 248th birthday with an early morning 3-mile run at Camp Zama, Japan, June 14, 2023. (Kelly Agee/Stars and Stripes)

An F-35 Lightning II of the Vermont Air National Guard's 158th Fighter Wing takes off from Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany, on June 14, 2023, during Air Defender 23. The German-led NATO air exercise is the largest in the alliance's history. (Michael Abrams/Stars and Stripes)

Maj. Gen. Joel “JB” Vowell smiles at his wife, Mary Vowell, during the U.S. Army Japan change-of-command ceremony at Camp Zama, June 20, 2023. Vowell relinquished command to Maj. Gen. David Womack. (Akifumi Ishikawa/Stars and Stripes)

People wave rainbow flags and shout “Happy Pride!” during a Pride Day parade at Yokosuka Naval Base, Japan, June 28, 2023. (Akifumi Ishikawa/Stars and Stripes)

Wiesbaden garrison commander Col. David Mayfield toasts the opening of the German-American Friendship Festival at the Hainerberg housing area with the AFN mascot, June 29, 2023. (Phillip Walter Wellman/Stars and Stripes)

Air Force Gen. Charles “CQ” Brown attends a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing to consider his nomination to be Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, July 11, 2023, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (Carlos Bongioanni/Stars and Stripes)

Gen. Randy George answers questions on July 12, 2023, during a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., to consider his nomination to be the next chief of staff of the Army. (Carlos Bongioanni/Stars and Stripes)

Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Linda Fagan testifies before the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee during a hearing on July 13, 2023, on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. (Carlos Bongioanni/Stars and Stripes)

Comedians Hunter Hill, left, Iliza Shlesinger, center, and Laura Peek pose with fans after their performance at Yokota Air Base’s enlisted club in western Tokyo, July 20, 2023. (Kelly Agee/Stars and Stripes)

Participants in the Bronze Star ceremony for Vietnam veterans stand for the pledge of allegiance in the U.S. Capitol, July 24, 2023. (Joe Gromelski/Special to Stars and Stripes)

F-35B Lightning II stealth fighters pack the USS America's flight deck in the Coral Sea, July 31, 2023. (Kelly Agee/Stars and Stripes)

Col. Bruce Bredlow, commander of the 52nd Air Defense Brigade, stands in front of his formation during an assumption of command ceremony for the 5th Battalion, 4th Air Defense Artillery Regiment on Aug. 2, 2023, in Ansbach, Germany. (Michael Slavin/Stars and Stripes)

The USS Blue Ridge returns to Yokosuka Naval Base, Japan, on Aug. 17, 2023, after a patrol in the Indo-Pacific region. (Akifumi Ishikawa/Stars and Stripes)

Vietnam veteran Larry Taylor tries to hold back tears as President Joe Biden places the Medal of Honor around his neck during a ceremony at the White House on Sept. 5, 2023. (Carlos Bongioanni/Stars and Stripes)

Approximately 30 people took part in a stair climb on Sept. 11, 2023, at Yokota Air Base, Japan, to remember more than 340 first responders who died in New York City on 9/11 helping others escape the twin towers. (Juan King/Stars and Stripes)

Sailors and Marines of the II Marine Expeditionary Force and members of Sweden’s 1st Marine Regiment participate in a simulated withdrawal of forces, or hot pickup, as part of the joint military exercise Archipelago Endeavor 23 near Berga, Sweden, on Sept. 13, 2023. (Alison Bath/Stars and Stripes)

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, left, listens to U.S. Army Gen. Mark Milley during closing remarks at the Ukraine Defense Contact Group meeting Sept. 19, 2023, at Ramstein Air Base, Germany. (Alexander Riedel/Stars and Stripes)

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy walks with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, right, and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell as they head to the Senate Chamber on Sept. 21, 2023, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (Carlos Bongioanni/Stars and Stripes)

South Korean marines ride through Seoul on amphibious assault vehicles during the Armed Forces Day parade, Sept. 26. 2023. (David Choi/Stars and Stripes)

Witnesses appearing Sept. 28, 2023, before the House Armed Services Committee testifying regarding the irregularity in the strategic basing process for the U.S. Space Command are from left: Space Force’s Chief of Space Operations Gen. Chance Saltzman; Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall III; and Space Command Commander Gen. James Dickinson. (Carlos Bongioanni/Stars and Stripes)

Ret. Army Brig. Gen. Steven Anderson speaks outside the U.S. Capitol on Oct. 3, 2023, calling for continued military support for Ukraine. Behind Anderson holding up signs are veterans for Ukraine demonstrators with VoteVets.org. (Carlos Bongioanni/Stars and Stripes)

Air Force Staff Sgt. Baily Hodgson feeds ice cream to Riko, a military working dog, during the canine’s retirement ceremony inside the Enlisted Club at Yokota Air Base, Japan, Oct. 11, 2023. (Kelly Agee/Stars and Stripes)

Ellie, a 7-year-old golden retriever and therapy dog, knows how to hug, a trick she practiced while getting a selfie with Beatriz Fracalosi, a USO center operations specialist and Air Force spouse on Oct. 18, 2023, at Ramstein Air Base, Germany. (Jennifer H. Svan/Stars and Stripes)

Brad Harzman, band director for Camp Zama Middle/High School, works with his students at the Army post outside Tokyo, Oct. 19, 2023. (Akifumi Ishikawa/Stars and Stripes)

An Air Force B-52H Stratofortress assigned to the 96th Bomb Squadron out of Barksdale Air Force Base, La., sits on the flightline at Cheongju International Airport, South Korea, Oct. 19, 2023. (David Choi/Stars and Stripes)

Air Force medics practice treating mass casulaties from an enemy drone strike at Yokota Air Base, Japan, Oct. 20, 2023. (Juan King/Stars and Stripes)

Army Maj. Gen. Paul Stanton, the commander of Fort Eisenhower and the Army Cyber Center of Excellence, right, and Command Sgt. Maj. Michael Starrett unveil a bust of General of the Army and President Dwight D. Eisenhower during a renaming ceremony on Oct. 27, 2023. The former Fort Gordon, Ga., was the last of nine Army bases to be renamed this year to drop their former names honoring Confederate generals. (Corey Dickstein/Stars and Stripes)

Army Cpl. Anthony Boulanger, left, and Army Spc. Alexis Jove, both with the 2nd Cavalry Regiment, shovel soil into buckets at an excavation site in Wistedt, Germany, Oct. 30, 2023. The soil will later be examined for airplane debris and potential human remains. (Phillip Walter Wellman/Stars and Stripes)

Ver.di union representative Susanne Riedel, wearing a Statue of Liberty-like crown, joins U.S. military employees and retail workers from IKEA and Primark during a workers protest in downtown Kaiserslautern, Germany, on Oct. 31, 2023, advocating for wage hikes. (Alexander Riedel/Stars and Stripes)

Staff Sgt. Hector Hernandez of the 66th Transportation Company holds up the winning raffle ticket during an event with the Kansas City Chiefs on Nov. 2, 2023, at Ramstein Air Base, Germany. Hernandez received two tickets to the Chiefs' game against the Miami Dolphins in Frankfurt. It was the second regular season NFL game in Germany and the first in Frankfurt. (Matt Wagner/Stars and Stripes)

Jaden Beady, of Yokosuka Middle School at Yokosuka Naval Base, competes in the softball throw at Yokota Air Base, Japan, Nov. 4, 2023. The event was part of the 44th Kanto Plains Special Olympics. (Kelly Agee/Stars and Stripes)

Capt. Justin Harts, the new commander of Destroyer Squadron 15, departs the change of command ceremony aboard the destroyer USS Higgins at Yokosuka Naval Base, Japan, on Nov. 17, 2023. (Akifumi Ishikawa/Stars and Stripes)

Sailors man the rails of the USS Ronald Reagan as the aircraft carrier returns to Yokosuka Naval Base, Japan, Nov. 19, 2023. (Akifumi Ishikawa/Stars and Stripes)

The aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier docks in Busan, South Korea, Nov. 22, 2023 (David Choi/Stars and Stripes)

Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Lisa Franchetti celebrates Thanksgiving with sailors aboard the USS Ronald Reagan at Yokosuka Naval Base, Japan, Nov. 23, 2023. (Akifumi Ishikawa/Stars and Stripes)

A C-130J Super Hercules crew prepares to take off from Yokota Air Base, Japan, for Operation Christmas Drop, Nov. 27, 2023. The humanitarian-aid mission serves remote islanders in the Federated States of Micronesia and Republic of Palau. (Akifumi Ishikawa/Stars and Stripes)

Marines and soldiers test out the new Mason Live Fire Range Complex at Camp Blaz, Guam on Nov. 30, 2023. (Seth Robson/Stars and Stripes)

Staff Sgt. Jaden Brown, a tank commander with Alpha “Ares” Company, 3rd Battalion, 67th Armored Regiment, in Lithuania during the Strong Griffin 2023 exercise in November. (Svetlana Shkolnikova/Stars and Stripes )

Capt. Ian Sweeney, an Operation Christmas Drop pilot, steers a C-130J Super Hercules from Guam to the Federated States of Micronesia, Dec. 5, 2023. He is assigned to the 36th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron at Yokota Air Base, Japan. (Seth Robson/Stars and Stripes)

Jay Tenison, a former Army tanker who served in Iraq, enters an M1A2 Abrams tank at Fort Moore, Ga., on Dec. 5, 2023, before shooting the tank as his dying wish. Tenison was diagnosed in 2022 with terminal stomach cancer. (Corey Dickstein/Stars and Stripes)

Airmen and other community members pay their respects as Osprey crew members’ remains depart Yokota Air Base, Japan, Dec. 13, 2023. (Kelly Agee/Stars and Stripes)

Members of the U.S. Army Japan and Japan Ground Self-Defense Force bands practice at Camp Zama, Japan, Dec. 13, 2023. (Akifumi Ishikawa/Stars and Stripes)

From right, Sgt. Theodore Buckley, Pvt. Ramses Ayala, Pfc. Joshua Singleton and Pfc. Ethan Calender convene outside an M-SHORAD vehicle during an exercise at Lest Training Area, Slovakia, Dec. 20, 2023. (Phillip Walter Wellman/Stars and Stripes)