The entirety of the pic exudes awesome!
Perhaps I am biased towards the lowly infantryman?
I get goosebumps when I see a young man (or woman) on the ground with everything they need on thier backs, a gritty determination on their faces and the ability to take and hold ground, knowing they fight for one another as a primary motivation.
I see the pilot and aircrew the same way. They simply wear a different rucksack-one that propels them at Mach 2.5 and 80,000 feet if need be. Still is the man over the machine.
While airpower is certainly a necessity for overcoming enemy centers of gravity, along with artillery, armor, etc it still remains that the “dog-faced” Soldier/Marine is the one who owns the ground (or not).
Forgive my decided prejudice towards the lowly grunt. I know the expereince well; that said, I always smile when I see a military aircraft (attack, transport or lift) overhead-made my life much easier-got me there & back, took me to the doc when I was bleeding, pounded the enemy when I could not overcome them with fire and maneuver and engaged targets well beyond my weapons ability-at my direction.
God Bless all our servicemen*
* denotes both sexes, according to common rules of grammar and usage. My daughter is proud to be an “Airman”.