

A Penn State University swimmer competes in the back stroke during a tri-meet Jan. 12, 2013, at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, Ark. The University of Arkansas has close ties with the military community, including an ROTC program, military appreciation days and two football games each year at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock, Ark., which was built as a tribute to Arkansans who have served and paid the ultimate price for their country.





Cowboys prepare to ride during the National Championship Bull Riders “Some Gave All” Memorial Day Championship May 27, 2013, near Bee Branch, Ark. The event featured a presentation of the colors by an Arkansas Army National Guard color guard, a tribute to fallen service members and free admission to all active-duty military personnel.





A competitor launches off a ramp during a mountain bike race at the Fat Tire Bicycle Festival July 14, 2014 in Eureka Springs, Ark. Chief Master Sgt. Bubba Beason, of the 19th Airlift Wing at Little Rock Air Force Base, placed third in the Clydesdale division.





U.S. Air Force Capt. Candice Adams Ismirle waits to receive a radiation treatment Oct. 22, 2013, at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, in Bethesda, Md. After approximately two years in remission, Ismirle recently learned her cancer had returned.





A U.S. Army paratrooper from the 82nd Airborne Division repeats instructions before performing a static line jump from a C-130H Aug. 18, 2013, near Alexandria International Airport, La. There were 681 paratroopers dropped from nine U.S. Air Force aircraft in support of Joint Operational Access Exercise 13-0X.





U.S. Army Sgt. Michael Bodiford, a team leader assigned to 1st Platoon, 1st Battalion, 153rd Infantry Regiment, 39th Infantry Brigade, climbs Pinnacle Mountain Sept. 5, 2013, near Little Rock, Ark. Bodiford scales the mountain multiple times per week as part of his physical training regimen, designed to prepare him for the Army’s Warrant Officer Candidate School.





Staff Sgt. Steven Smith, a 19th Operations Support Squadron joint airdrop inspector, steps to his aircraft Feb. 5, 2013, at Little Rock Air Force Base, Ark. Smith and other inspectors, inspect every airdrop at Little Rock Air Force Base to ensure the proper safety procedures are being implemented.





Airmen from the 19th Airlift Wing prepare a C-130J for a flight, beneath the light of a full moon March 27, 2013 at Little Rock Air Force Base, Ark. As home to the largest C-130 fleet in the world, Little Rock AFB delivers mission-ready Airmen to fuel combat airlift operations.





The Little Rock Air Force Base fire department is an award-winning unit that leads the way in Air Force accolades. The department, comprised of 49 Airmen and seven civilians, operates on two 24-hour shifts that respond to nearly 700 emergency calls each year. The department won 66 individual and team awards in 2013, including the Air Force Times Airman of the Year. This close-knit team of Airmen spends nearly as much time together as they do at home, forging deep bonds of kinship and trust.

