Independence Day celebrates the birthday of the United States of America and the signing of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, by our Founding Fathers. It's a day of picnics and patriotic parades, a night of concerts and fireworks and a reason to fly the American flag. This week, as we celebrate the country's 233rd Fourth of July, most of us will be enjoying festivities alongside friends and family.

I'd like to honor all those who cannot be home to celebrate this important holiday due to our combat operations overseas. They are there in harm's way, not just to protect our nation, but to protect an idea, a philosophy, a way of life called America.
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This week's photo highlights feature Airmen around the globe involved in activities supporting expeditionary operations and defending America. This weekly feature showcases the men and women of the Air Force. 

View the Week in Photos slideshow.

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Air Mobility Command's premier mobility competition will take place July 19 to 24 at McChord Air Force Base, Wash., AMC officials said.

The international competition focuses on improving worldwide air mobility forces' professional core abilities and features more than 40 aircraft participating in airdrops, aerial refueling and other aerial events.

Additional events will showcase the unique and wide-ranging capabilities of military security forces and aerial port, maintenance and aeromedical evacuation personnel.
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In his annual Independence Day message to members of the U.S. armed forces worldwide, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff recalls a speech Abraham Lincoln delivered in Chicago in 1858.

Here is Navy Adm. Mike Mullen's holiday message:

The Fourth of July in America perpetually binds us to the birth of our nation, and the spirit of a revolution.

Eighty-two years after Thomas Jefferson penned the Declaration of Independence, another future president, Abraham Lincoln, eloquently defined the Fourth as an annual celebration of his listeners' enduring connection with their previous, heroic generation. But, he added, "There is something else."
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After more than 30 years of service, the Air Force's top enlisted leader said his goodbyes to fellow Airmen in a June 30 ceremony in Washington, D.C.

Former Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force Rodney J. McKinley told the gathered throng that his father took him and two friends to the Military Entrance Processing Station that day 35 years ago.  

"I had never flown in an aircraft and didn't fully understand the significance of how my life was changing. The Vietnam War was winding down and it was still unpopular to wear a military uniform," Chief McKinley said. 
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