The photographers and videographers employed by the U.S. armed forces are often some pretty talented artists. Stationed around the globe, they're tasked with producing images of all aspects of service -- from training to combat to the struggles that troops sometimes face upon returning home. The images here are some of the best of the best -- a selection of winners and honorable mentions in the 2012 Military Photographer of the Year competition, recently judged at the Defense Information School at Ft. George G. Meade, Maryland. These photos adhere to the same standards as photojournalism (meaning no posed or electronically manipulated images) and have been chosen from thousands of entries. You can see some of last year's winners here. Above, 1st Lt. Drew Parks communicates with a Navy F/A-18 Super Hornet on Sept. 11, 2012 in Southwest Asia. U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Jonathan Snyder Lance Cpl. Chuck, who lost his sight and both his legs to cancer, competes against other Wounded Warriors in the 2012 Marine Corps Trials. Staff Sgt. Mark Fayloga Maj. Johnathan Zito pulls in behind a KC-135 Stratotanker to receive fuel off Florida's east coast on July 12, 2012. U.S. Air Force photo/Master Sgt. Jeremy Lock An Afghan boy petitions 21-year-old U.S. Marine Lance Cpl. Christopher Bones for candy after receiving a water bottle from another Marine during a security patrol on April 28, 2012. Cpl. Reece Lodder A group of Navy Search and Rescue swimmers wait in the chilly waters of Coronado Bay, San Diego, California on March 15, 2012. U.S. Air Force photo/Tech. Sgt. Chris Hibben U.S. Army Sgt. Fernando Diaz is blindfolded and has ice-cold water dumped over his head during a mock interrogation by opposition forces on Aug. 30, 2012 at Schofield Barracks in Wahiawa, Hawaii. The procedure was part of the 2012 Pacific Regional Medical Command Best Medic Competition, a 72-hour physical and mental test of U.S. Army Medics' leadership, teamwork, tactics, medical knowledge, and warrior tasks. Sgt. Michael R. Holzworth Capt. Blaine Jones takes off in a Thunderbird 6 at Joint Base Lewis-McChord on July 22, 2012. U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Larry E. Reid A Marine dog handler pokes his head through a fence during the 2012 Hawaiian Islands Working Dog Competition on Schofield Barracks, Hawaii on June 19, 2012. Sgt. Markus Fichtl Equipment descends over the Nevada Test and Training Range after an airdrop during an exercise near Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada on May 23, 2012. U.S. Air Force/Airman 1st Class Daniel Hughes U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Sara Bauer and Staff Sgt. Felipe Mendoza place U.S. flags above the graves of U.S. military members at the Veterans Memorial Park in Bluffdale, Utah on Nov. 9, 2012. U.S. Air Force photo/Airman 1st Class Tiffany DeNault Dust lights up the rotors of a CH-47 Chinook helicopter as paratroopers with 3rd Squadron, 73rd Cavalry Regiment load for an air assault mission in Ghazni Province, Afghanistan on May 23, 2012. Sgt Michael Macleod U.S. Marine Cpl. Garrett Carnes (in wheelchair) jokes with Sgt. Kenney Clark (right) during a motivational run held May 29, 2012 to honor Carnes's life and sacrifice. The infantryman lost his legs in an improvised explosive device attack on Feb. 19 while supporting combat operations in the Khan Neshin district of Afghanistan's Helmand province. An ISAF Coalition Forces soldier shares an inquisitive moment with a camel and her calf after a raid on a compound in southern Afghanistan on Feb. 7, 2012. Staff Sgt. Sean K. Harp Afghan National Army Special Operations and Coalition forces search a compound in southern Afghanistan during a raid targeting a Taliban sub- commander on March 23, 2012. U.S. Navy Petty Officer 3rd Class Benjamin Knauth and 2nd Class Dustin Koch place reassuring hands on the shoulder of an Afghan national policeman while examining his injuries in a battalion aid station following an attack by a suicide bomber in Helmand province's Garmsir district on April 19, 2012. U.S. Army Sergeant David Milne re-enlists for another term of service amidst crashing waves in the Atlantic Ocean in Wilmington, North Carolina on April 30, 2012. Before the re-enlistment ceremony, Milne participated in company physical training including a 4-mile run, buddy carries, and sit-ups along the beach. Spc. Benjamin D. Appelbaum A CV-22 Osprey hangs in an anechoic chamber at a hangar at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida on March 6, 2012. The chamber is designed to stop internal reflections of electromagnetic waves, as well as insulate from exterior sources of electromagnetic noise to facilitate testing air-to-air and air-to-surface munitions and electronics systems. Sgt. Samuel King U.S. Air Force Master Sgt. Kevin Preston, an aeromedical evacuation technician, cares for an Afghan in critical but stable condition before transport to a larger medical facility at Forward Operating Base Tarin Kowt in Afghanistan on April 9, 2012. U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Greg C. Biondo Pfc. Kristina Batty, a medic with the 82nd Airborne Division's 1st Brigade Combat Team, dons a headscarf to meet with female Afghan villagers on May 5, 2012 in Afghanistan's Ghazni province. Sgt. Michael J. Macleod U.S. Air Force Explosive Ordnance Disposal technician Staff Sgt. Salvatore DiGiacomo demonstrates the EOD 9 bomb suit and helmet ensemble on Aug. 21, 2012 during Air Force Week in New York City, New York.