Golf Battery 3/14 Marines send shells down range

Marines from Golf Battery 3rd Battalion, 14th Marine Regiment, conduct artillery training May 4, 2013, on the Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst ranges. The unit conducted 155 mm artillery training using their primary weapon system, M777A2 howitzer. This training is essential and helps to ensure the readiness of America's fighting force. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. David Carbajal/Released)

Golf Battery 3/14 Marines send shells down range

Cpl. James Heitzer, Golf Battery 3rd Battalion, 14th Marine Regiment field artillery cannoneer, pitches dirt as he builds a cover hole during artillery training May 4, 2013, on the Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst ranges. The unit simulated a real-world combat environment by digging cover holes to take cover during enemy fire. Heitzer is a Mays Landing, N.J., native. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. David Carbajal/Released)

Service member spotlight: a solid base

(U.S. Army courtesy photo/Released)

Marines fly by night, recover friendlies

Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron 772 Marines exit a CH-53 Super Stallion during a Tactical Recover of Aircraft and Personnel rehearsal exercise at night April 30, 2013, on the Dix ranges at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, N.J. The moonless night forced Marines to utilize night-vision equipment to locate the downed personnel in the surrounding woods.(U.S. Air Force photo by Airman Sean M. Crowe/Released)

Boom goes the dynamite

Airman 1st Class Eli Marquez, 87th Explosive Ordnance Disposal journeyman, trains on the M107 .50 caliber rifle, April 22, 2013, at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, N.J. The EOD technicians use the rifle as a tool in the clearance of runways of unexploded ordnance. The rifle can be used to fire at unexploded ordnance in order to detonate or break them apart. The process for this is called standoff munitions disruption. Marquez hails from Miami, Okla. (U.S. Air Force photo by Russ Meseroll/Released)

Service member spotlight: broadening horizons

(U.S. Coast Guard photo/Released)

Service member spotlight: all for one

Senior Airman Christina May, 305th Operations Support Squadron air traffic controller, is the joint base’s featured service member of the week. May hails from Santa Cruz, Calif. Q: Why did you join the military? A: Joining the Air Force was a pivotal moment in my life. Initially, I joined because I had no direction or discipline and I wanted to see the world. Luckily for me, not only did I gain all three of the aforementioned, but I have gained a true sense of purpose and continue to grow exponentially. Q: What is your job and what is its impact on the mission? A: First and foremost, I am an Airman, and I need to be the best that I can be so that others may also succeed. As an Air Force air traffic controller, essentially my job is to keep all airplanes safe while allowing for the quickest route of flight possible. I get our military planes to their destinations to accomplish the mission and I provide control services to civilian and commercial planes. Q: Do you have any past or current family members in military? A: My grandfather was an Army drill sergeant during the Korean War, and I am the first woman in my family to join the military. Q: Who most inspires you? A: My mother and father are both amazing people that inspire me. I always knew I loved them, but it was not until I flew the coop to join the military and truly be on my own that I realized how incredible they truly are. Q: What is one thing you’d like your fellow service members to take away or understand about the military? A: If there could only be one thing that I would like my fellow service members to understand about the military, it would be that we are all integral parts to the mission and without each other we would be nothing. Do your part and be the best you can be so that others may trust in and count on you and will hopefully be inspired to do the same.

ASA-Dix victim advocates spread word

Amanda Brown and Roxanne McElroy, Army Support Activity Dix installation victim sexual assault advocates, talk with Kristina Shepard, wife of Senior Airman Lucas Shepard, 305th Maintenance Squadron crew chief, about the sexual assault awareness and prevention in the Mall area of the Base Exchange during Sexual Assault month April 10, 2013, at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, N.J. The display table is manned by sexual assault response coordinators who work for the Air Force and the 87th Air Base Wing and installation victim sexual assault advocates for ASA-Dix. (U.S. Air Force photo by Wayne Russell/Released)

Community leaders give back to joint base

Col. Rick Williamson, 305th Air Mobility Wing commander, and Joe Zarzaca, 32nd Air Refueling Squadron honorary squadron commander, pose in a group photo with deploying members of the 32nd ARS aboard a KC-10 Extender on Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, N.J., March 26, 2013. Zarzaca delivered more than 1,000 bagels and doughnuts to each deploying KC-10. (U.S. Air Force photo by Russ Meseroll/Released)

Army Reserve division commander joins female general officers ranks

U.S. Army Brig. Gen. Mikey Kloster, 98th Training Division commander, right, receives promotion to brigadier general from Maj. Gen. William D. Razz Waff, 99th Regional Support Command commander, during a ceremony in the Maj. John P. Pryor Army Reserve Center at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, N.J., April 6, 2013. (U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Shawn Morris/Released)

'Patriots on Point!'

Sgt. 1st Class Daniel Garcia of 1st Battalion, 307th Infantry Regiment trainer, trains Spc. Christina Dion, 300th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment journalist, in room-clearing tactics and procedures Dec. 12, 2009, at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, N.J. Garcia is part of the 174th Infantry Brigade tasked with executing and certifying training for deploying service members. (U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Donald L. Reeves/Released)

Home on the range

New Jersey National Guard Pfc. Leoneo Perez, 2nd Battalion, 113 Infantry Regiment, Mortar Platoon ammo bearer, prepares a 120mm mortar round for use during mortar firing training on Mortar Firing Point 4 March 23, 2013, at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, N.J. Perez, an Elizabeth, N.J., native, gave the mortar round to the assistant gunner for placement into the mortar. The unit is based out of Riverdale, N.J. (U.S. Air Force photo by 2nd Lt. David J. Murphy/Released)

Home on the range

Mortar rounds sit ready to be used during mortar firing training on Mortar Firing Point 4 March 23, 2013, at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, N.J. Mortar firing training was just one element of the New Jersey National Guard’s 2nd Battalion, 113th Infantry Regiment, training while at the joint base ranges. The brigade also took part in squad live-fire training and rifle qualification. The unit is based out of Riverdale, N.J. (U.S. Air Force photo by 2nd Lt. David J. Murphy/Released)

Home on the range

Members of the New Jersey National Guard’s 2nd Battalion, 113th Infantry Regiment, Mortar Platoon, cover their ears as a 120mm mortar round fires during mortar firing training on Mortar Firing Point 4 March 23, 2013, at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, N.J. Mortar firing training took place from March 22-24 as part of the brigade’s annual training. The unit is based out of Riverdale, N.J. (U.S. Air Force photo by 2nd Lt. David J. Murphy/Released)

Home on the range

New Jersey National Guard Staff Sgt. David Pereda, 2nd Battalion, 113 Infantry Regiment, sniper-section leader, qualifies with an M4 rifle on Range 38 March 23, 2013, at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, N.J. Pereda, a Blairstown, N.J., native, who returned from Afghanistan about a year ago, has to qualify with an M4 rifle annually. The unit is based out of Riverdale, N.J. (U.S. Air Force photo by 2nd Lt. David J. Murphy/Released)

SERE trainers eat weird stuff, chill in woods

Staff Sgt. Josh Schmitz, 305th Operations Support Squadron Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape specialist, displays his SERE specialist Arch March 15, 2013, at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, N.J. The SERE specialist are authorized to wear the SERE Beret, SERE specialist Arch and the Air Education and Training Command instructor badge upon completion of tech school because of the intense instructional program. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Ryan Throneberry/Released)

Corporal’s Course receives sister service members

Senior Airman Thomas Waters, 87th Civil Engineer Squadron journeyman firefighter from Salem, N.Y., leads his fire team in the Corporal’s Course operations lesson March, 25, 2013, at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, N.J. The service members in the course learn how to lead others and maneuver in a combat environment at the platoon and fireteam levels. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman Sean M. Crowe/Released)

Virtual simulators provide realistic training

Reserve Soldiers, training with the 78th Training Division, prepare to execute a virtual mission using the Dismounted Soldier Training System Feb. 8, 2013, at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, N.J., as part of their Combat Support Training and Warrior exercises. The portable DSTS allows leaders to enhance their Soldiers’ training in a fully-immersive, virtual-reality environment while also providing both cost and time savings for the military. (U.S. Air Force photo by Pascual Flores/Released)

National Prayer Breakfast unites community

Chaplain (Maj. Gen.) Howard D. Stendahl, Chief of Chaplains, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, speaks on the role of a military chaplain, to serve all regardless of their beliefs, to a full-capacity crowd during the Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst National Prayer Breakfast Mar. 5, 2013, at Tommy B's Community Activities Center on JB MDL, N.J. The National Prayer Breakfast, formerly known as the Presidential Prayer Breakfast, has roots in a rich tradition dating back to 1942 when leaders in the Senate and House of Representatives met weekly for prayer out of concern for the U.S.’s involvement in World War II. (U.S. Air Force photo by Wayne Russell/Released)

(U.S. Navy courtesy photo/Released)

(U.S. Navy courtesy photo/Released)

Air Force wrestlers train to subdue competition

Air Force Wrestling team members and Richard Estrella, Air Force Wrestling head coach, prepare for a “hands-in chant” after wrestling practice March 1, 2013, in building 5975 near New Jersey Avenue on Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, N.J. Severin has competed with the Air Force Wrestling team before, making him the most experienced team member. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman Sean M. Crowe/Released)

Air Force wrestlers train to subdue competition

Airman 1st Class Nate Hartley, 721st Aerial Port Squadron aerial porter from Ramstein Air Base, Germany, and Airman 1st Class Lucas Brogdon, 718th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron crew chief, attempt to perform a takedown on one another March 1, 2013, in a training facility near New Jersey Avenue on Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, N.J. Hartley and Brogdon arrived at JB MDL Feb. 13 to participate in the 2013 All-Air Force Wrestling Training Camp through March 13. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman Sean M. Crowe/Released)

MAG 49 corpsman 2013

Petty Officer 2nd Class Joseph Pulliam, Marine Aircraft Group 49 hospital corpsman, takes a blood sample from Lance Cpl. Jordan Helsel, MAG-49 administrative specialist, Feb. 14, 2013, at the MAG-49 building on Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, N.J. A hospital corpsman is a Navy enlisted medical specialist who serves with Navy and Marine Corps units. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Ryan Throneberry/Released)

Man on the Street: What woman inspires you most?

“My mom is, without a doubt, the woman I admire most. She’s my biggest critic, but also my biggest supporter. She has, from a very young age, instilled in me the strength to stand up for what I believe, even if I stand alone. She’s the one I seek for advice to this day.” -- Army Warrant Officer Ana Ferreira, 72nd Operations Brigade mobilization officer in-charge, from Fall River, Mass.