This week’s photos feature Airmen from around the globe involved in activities supporting expeditionary operations and defending America. This weekly feature showcases the men and women of the Air Force.

An HC-130 Hercules from the 211th Rescue Squadron drops signal flares in the inner bay of Homer, Alaska, as part of rescue water training Sept. 30, 2015. The 210th, 211th and 212th Rescue Squadrons of the Alaska Air Guard’s 176th Wing trained on water rescue tactics Sept. 30 to Oct. 1. The wing’s “rescue triad” performed both day and night missions including personnel jumps and cargo drops on a moving target, flying night water operations, visual search for casualties and drop zone control for safety and situation management. 

Two HC-130J Combat King IIs sit on the flightline in preparation for cargo unload at Diyarbakir Air Base, Turkey, Sept. 28, 2015. The aircraft deployed to Diyarbakir AB in an effort to enhance coalition capabilities and support personnel recovery operations in Syria and Iraq.

The 45th Space Wing supported the United Launch Alliance’s 100th launch, an Atlas V 421 flying the Morelos-3 communications satellite for Mexico’s Secretariat of Communications and Transportation, Oct. 2, 2015, from Launch Complex 41 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla.

Senior Airman James Vrtis, a 57th Operations Support Squadron airfield systems technician, descends a ground-to-air radio tower on Nellis Air Force Base, Nev., Oct. 6, 2015. Airfield systems specialists must periodically perform preventative maintenance inspections on ground-to-air radio towers, which stand as tall as 180 feet. 

A C-17 Globemaster III flies over Biggs Army Airfield, Texas, during Bold Quest 15-2 operations Oct. 2, 2015. One main facet of Bold Quest was the integration of joint and coalition fire support assets across all warfighting domains. The Army and Air Force worked together to perform air-to-air, surface-to-air, and air-to-surface fire support engagements in live and digitally simulated missions.