Spc. Kevin Cox, 1st Battalion, 24th Infantry Regiment, 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, U.S. Army Alaska, a native of Bend, Ore., prepares himself for a bout during 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)