The Defense Department has named TSgt. Jeremy Lock, with the 1st Combat Camera Squadron at Charleston AFB, S.C., as its Military Photographer of the Year for 2007. It marks the third time Lock has received DOD’s top photographer honor. He has served multiple tours in Afghanistan and Iraq, capturing images of military operations and service members of all branches of the US military. DOD journalist Gerry Gilmore reports that in addition to his cameras, Lock carries a 9 mm Beretta automatic pistol, because as Lock says, “when we’re put on a team with Army, Marines, and Special Forces, we become an asset not a hindrance.”
The Air Force has embraced new technical approaches like open mission systems and rapid software updates for cutting-edge aircraft like the B-21 and Collaborative Combat Aircraft. Increasingly, though, the service is also working to apply these to its older, “legacy” aircraft, officials said this week.