First to fight

Spc. Iian Fleming, bottom, 486th Movement Control Team, a native of Durham, N.C., and Spc. David Hokenson, 725th Brigade Support Battalion, 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 25th Infantry Division, a native of Anchorage, Alaska, both assigned to U.S. Army Alaska, compete in the first day of the 2015 USARAK Combatives Tournament at the Buckner Physical Fitness Center on Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, Thursday, June 4, 2015. Less-experienced fighters will compete in basic rules bouts Thursday, while more advanced fighters will battle Friday. Combatives, or hand-to-hand combat, is much like mixed martial arts fighting and allows the use of both striking and grappling techniques, both standing and on the ground, from a variety of combat sports. Proficiency in hand-to-hand combat is one of the fundamental building blocks for training the modern Soldier. (U.S. Air Force photo/Justin Connaher)