Last week in photos, according to the US Department of War
The US Department of War published its weekly photo collection for the week of July 10-16, 2026, a curated selection of images from military operations, training exercises and humanitarian missions across five countries and three US states. Here is what the armed forces were doing last week, in their own visual record.
The sourcing here comes from the US Department of War’s week in photos collection published July 16, 2026.
Salutes and smiles — Washington, July 10
Army Brig. Gen. Leland D. Blanchard II, interim commanding general of the District of Columbia National Guard, was photographed returning a salute to a child on a Washington street. Blanchard and West Virginia National Guardsmen were deployed in support of the DC Safe and Beautiful mission, a joint task force operation. It is the kind of photograph the Department of War selects deliberately (a general and a child, a salute returned with smiles) and it does the work it is designed to do.
Rocket fire — Kauai, Hawaii, July 11
Soldiers assigned to the Army’s 623rd Field Artillery Regiment fired an M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System during a live-fire exercise at Rimpac 26. The world’s largest international maritime exercise brings together 30 nations, 30 ships, five submarines, more than 190 aircraft and 30,000 personnel on and around the Hawaiian Islands through July 31.
Hydration handoff — La Guaira, Venezuela, July 11
The same day soldiers were firing rockets in Hawaii, a Marine was delivering relief supplies to a member of the nonprofit Global Empowerment Mission in La Guaira, Venezuela. US Southern Command directed military forces to support Department of State-led disaster assistance following earthquakes that struck Venezuela on June 24. The juxtaposition with the Kauai image is not something the Department’s photo editors appear to have intended as a comment. It is simply what July 11 looked like.
Leading by example — Colorado Springs, July 13
Air Force Col. Brandon J. Tellez, commandant of cadets at the US Air Force Academy, completed an assault course alongside basic cadets from the Class of 2030. The training develops confidence, teamwork, discipline and resilience as cadets build warfighting readiness. Tellez completing the course alongside his cadets rather than watching from the side is the detail the Department chose to highlight.
Damage control — Newport, Rhode Island, July 13
US Coast Guardsmen and Norwegian crew members participated in damage control training aboard the USS Buttercup wet trainer. The trainer simulates flooding and battle damage, allowing crews to practice emergency repairs and damage-control responses. The Buttercup is not a ship. It is a building designed to fill with water so that people can practice not drowning.
Wired up — Cheyenne, Wyoming, July 14
Air Force Master Sgt. Timothy Williams, a loadmaster assigned to the Wyoming Air National Guard’s 187th Airlift Squadron, was preparing cable equipment for functional testing of a modular airborne firefighting system. The wing had been activated the previous day to support wildland firefighting operations across the western United States. A military airlift wing activated for domestic wildfire suppression is not a routine deployment, though it has become a regular feature of western summers.
Pacific spray — USS Essex, July 14
A Navy air-cushioned landing craft was photographed returning to the amphibious assault ship USS Essex during Rimpac 26, trailing white spray across open water. The image was chosen as the Department’s cover photo for the week. Thirty nations, 30 surface ships, five submarines, 206 aircraft and 30,000 personnel operating simultaneously across the Pacific.
The bottom line
Seven photographs. One week. Rocket fire and earthquake relief on the same day, cadet training and damage control on another, a wildfire response activation and a naval exercise cover shot on the last. The Department of War’s weekly photo collection documents what the US military is doing at any given moment, and the answer is almost always: more than one thing at once.
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