MILITARY PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR, 1ST PLACE | U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Josh Martin, 438th Air Expeditionary Advisory Squadron, Mi-17 aerial gunner, provides rear security on a Mi-17 helicopter, Kabul, Afghanistan, May 31, 2014. Martin, a Rapid City, S.D., native, is deployed from the 55th Rescue Squadron, Davis Monthan Air Force Base, Ariz. The 438th AEAS and Afghan Air Force have combined efforts to train with about 300 Afghan commandos with the 8th Commandos Kandak. The training will enable Afghan helicopter aircrews to work seamlessly in support of ground forces in combat. Vernon Young/U.S. Air Force
Brandon Griggs, CNN: The U.S. military's best photos of 2014
(CNN) A sergeant wipes away a tear while kneeling before a battlefield cross at a Memorial Day ceremony for fallen service members at Camp Lemonnier in Djibouti.
Seven Air Force recruits plunge into the deep end of a swimming pool, their hands and feet bound, in a training exercise meant to prepare them for stressful real-world operations.
An Air Force captain jumps rope in a Texas gym despite missing her left leg, which was amputated after being diagnosed with cancer.
These striking images are among the winning entries in the 2014 Military Photographer of the Year competition, open to photography by U.S. service members only. Winners of the annual contest, judged by the Stars and Stripes newspaper, were announced this month.
