--- title: "Check out the 13 best military photos of 2020" description: "A pandemic couldn't stop these photographers from churning out some excellent content for our viewing pleasure." date: "2020-12-30" modified: "2020-12-30" authors: - name: "David Roza" job_title: "YouTube Writer/Editor" link: "https://taskandpurpose.com/authors/david-roza/" url: "https://taskandpurpose.com/military-life/best-military-photos-of-2020/" categories: - "Culture" - "Mandatory Fun" --- # Check out the 13 best military photos of 2020 ![]() *A Marine stands watch during a cold weather training event in Setermoen, Norway, Nov. 12, 2020, in preparation for Reindeer II, a bilateral exercise hosted by the Norwegian military to increase support capabilities between NATO allies in extreme conditions. (Marine Corps photo / Cpl. William Chockey)* All the challenges of 2020 couldn’t stop military photographers from snapping some truly excellent shots for our viewing pleasure. This week, the Department of Defense released a list of its 85 best photos of the year, and I sampled what I thought were the 13 best among them. They were hard choices, and I’m no photography expert, but I went with photos that I thought used excellent composition to tell compelling stories. But sometimes I went with ones that just looked really pretty (or badass). Enjoy! 1. **"Free Fall"** ![]() *Navy explosive ordnance disposal technicians conduct free-fall jumps during flight operations with the Spanish navy in Rota, Spain, Feb. 13, 2020. (Navy photo / Petty Officer 3rd Class Katie Cox)* 2. **"Northern Lights"** ![]() *A Marine stands watch during a cold weather training event in Setermoen, Norway, Nov. 12, 2020, in preparation for Reindeer II, a bilateral exercise hosted by the Norwegian military to increase support capabilities between NATO allies in extreme conditions. (Marine Corps photo / Cpl. William Chockey)* 3. **"Greenland Grace"** ![]() *The Coast Guard cutter Campbell travels with the Royal Danish Navy patrol vessel HDMS Knud Rasmussen off the coast of Greenland, Sept. 7, 2020. (Coast Guard photo / Seaman Kate Kilroy)* 4. **"Mountain Hornet"** ![]() *A Navy F/A-18F Super Hornet soars above the clouds while conducting flight operations near Atsugi, Japan, Jan. 29, 2020. (Navy photo / Lt. Alex Grammar)* 5. **"Shoreline"** ![]() *Marines stage assault amphibious vehicles during around-the-clock training operations at Marine Corps Base Hawaii, May 28, 2020. (Marine Corps photo / Lance Cpl. Jacob Wilson)* 6. **"Dolphin Escort"** ![]() *A pod of dolphins travels with the guided missile destroyer USS Paul Hamilton in the Persian Gulf, May 17, 2020. (Navy photo / Petty Officer 3rd Class Matthew Jackson)* 7. **"Blue Wall"** ![]() *Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Blake Hernandez and Pfc. Brady McVane paint the wall of a school in Chanthaburi, Thailand, Feb. 25, 2020, as part of Exercise Cobra Gold 2020 (Marine Corps photo / Staff Sgt. Jordan Gilbert)* 8. **"Boarding the Mercy"** ![]() *Sailors transport a patient onto the hospital ship USNS Mercy in Los Angeles, April 6, 2020. The Mercy deployed to serve as a referral hospital for non-COVID-19 patients admitted to shore-based hospitals, allowing those hospitals to focus on COVID-19 cases. (Navy photo / Petty Officer 2nd Class Ryan M. Breeden)* 9. **"Salute Spectacular"** ![]() *Fireworks go off after members of the Army’s parachute team, the Golden Knights, land on the White House grounds during the Salute to America, July 4, 2020. (Army photo / Sgt. Kevin Roy)* 10. **"Teeth Technique"** ![]() *Air Force Senior Airman Bria Lipkins watches a child practice her brushing techniques on a stuffed animal at Holloman Air Force Base, N.M., Feb. 11, 2020. (Air Force photo / Staff Sgt. Christine Groening)* 11. **"Fire Shelter"** ![]() *Marine Corps Cpl. Robert Rosa conducts training with a practice fire shelter at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, Calif., Sept. 18, 2020. Marines and sailors assisted the U.S. Forest Service with fires in California. (Marine Corps photo / Lance Cpl. Ulises Salgado)* 12. **"Unflappable Feco"** ![]() *Feco, a single-purpose bomb dog assigned to a Coast Guard maritime safety and security team, wears protective eye and ear gear and a hoisting vest for hoist operation training at Moffett Air National Guard Base, Calif., June 15, 2020. (Air National Guard photo / Master Sgt. Ray Aquino)* 13**. "Goodbye Wave"** ![]() *Children wave goodbye as the fast-attack submarine USS North Carolina departs for a regularly scheduled deployment at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, March 25, 2020. (Navy photo / Chief Petty Officer Amanda Gray)* If you want to see the DoD's entire list of photos, here is a [link](). ***Related: [The best photos of the US military in 2019, according to an award-winning Air Force photographer]()*** ## Author David Roza writes scripts about military news for the Task & Purpose YouTube channel, and he also writes articles about military pay, benefits, health care, child care, culture, and other personnel topics on a freelance basis. Roza previously covered the Air Force and Space Force for Task & Purpose from 2019 to 2023 and for Air & Space Forces Magazine from 2023 to 2025. In the course of that reporting, he has set off a ‘Hollywood explosion’ with Air Force bomb techs, turned the (unarmed) keys of a nuclear missile bunker, hovered over the Nevada desert on an Air Force rescue helicopter, and got the best sleep of his life on the floor of a C-17 over the central Pacific. Share tips and story ideas with David at [david.roza@teamrecurrent.io]()