Photos taken by the military photographers are by definition public property, subject to the FOIA.
In a very loose sense, yes.
But the military often will---as I know from having lost a elder brother 38 years ago (he was an A-4 driver)over a rice paddy far away, be very careful about the dissemination of such photos or info on NOK.
You seem to forget that someone has to FILE a FOIA request to force their release. Guess who were the whiners?
It wasn't the tooth fairy.
Again, it comes back to motive. The MSM and other groups have their very specific agenda. It is NOT to support the troops or their families. The MSM could care less about them.