Image 0 of 10An Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcon pilot conducts aerial refueling with a KC-135 Stratotanker above the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Oct. 22. (Staff Sgt. Joseph Pick/Air Force) Gunner’s Mate 2nd Class Zachary Rowe performs pre-fire maintenance on a Mk 38 25mm machine gun aboard the amphibious assault ship Makin Island Nov. 2 in U.S. 3rd Fleet. (MC2 Jacob D. Bergh/Navy) U.S. Marines with 2nd Battalion, 10th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, fire an M777 Howitzer during Exercise Rolling Thunder on Fort Bragg, N.C., Oct. 19. (Lance Cpl. Brian Bolin Jr./Marine Corps) Firefighters with Marine Corps Air Station Yuma, Ariz., neutralize a simulated gas leak during exercise Desert Plume Nov. 2. (Cpl. Gabrielle Sanders/Marine Corps) F-16C Fighting Falcons arrive to the 332nd Air Expeditionary Wing at an undisclosed location in Southwest Asia Oct. 22. (Senior Airman Karla Parra/Air Force) An MH-60S Sea Hawk helicopter assigned to Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 4 lifts off from the flight deck of the aircraft carrier Carl Vinson in the South China Sea Nov. 1. (MC3 Jeff D. Kempton/Navy) U.S. Army soldiers with the 27th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, defend their area of operation after being ambushed during a Joint Multinational Pacific Readiness Center rotation on Helemano Military Reservation, Hawaii, Oct. 27. (Spc. Rachel Christensen/Army) A 2nd Maintenance Group airman performs preflight checks on a B-52H Stratofortress at Barksdale Air Force Base, La., Oct. 26. (Airman 1st Class William Pugh/Air Force) Cadets from the Texas A&M University Bravo Team navigate their watercraft across Lower Douglas Lake at the Zodiac water course challenge during the 1st Brigade Ranger Challenge at Fort Knox, Ky., Oct. 28. (Kyle Crawford/Army Cadet Command) Divers assigned to Naval Special Warfare Logistics Support Unit 1 assist each other with their Mark-25 underwater breathing apparatus before a high-altitude dive. The exercise is designed to qualify and maintain Naval Special Warfare personnel's altitude diving proficiency and provide opportunities for instructor qualification. (MC2 Alex Perlman/Navy)
‘Is this Santa Claus?’ A misprinted ad and a good-hearted colonel sparked NORAD’s Christmas tradition