HATCH ACTION

U.S. Navy Petty Officer 3rd Class Nahun Rodriguez reaches up to close a hatch during a drill aboard the guided-missile cruiser USS Gettysburg in the Atlantic Ocean, Sept. 25, 2012. The Gettysburg is on its way to take part in Exercise Joint Warrior off the coast of Scotland. U.S. Navy photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Foster Bamford

MISSION MOMENT

U.S. Army Staff Sgt. James Bates pulls security as Afghans look on during a mission to visit an official in Farah City in Afghanistan's Farah province, Sept. 25, 2012. Bates is assigned to Provincial Reconstruction Team Farah. U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Jonathan Lovelady

OFFICIAL SECURITY

U.S. Army Cpl. Daniel Thornton pulls security during a key leader engagement at an official's office in Farah City in Afghanistan's Farah province, Sept. 25, 2012. Thornton is assigned to Provincial Reconstruction Team Farah. U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Jonathan Lovelady

KANDAHAR WELCOME

U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Robert B. "Abe" Abrams, commander of Regional Command South, welcomes U.S. Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, to Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan, Sept. 25, 2012. Dempsey met with key Army leaders for the first time since they took command of the region earlier this month. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Uriah Walker

ARTILLERY CALL

Marine Corps Pfc. Devlin Linhardt, left, and Cpl. Justin Abbott prepare for an artillery call for fire during Enhanced Mojave Viper on Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms, Calif., Sept. 22, 2012. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Anthony Ortiz

HOVERING HAWK

Army Pfc. Natalie Mehring, top, connects a cable to a hovering UH-60L Black Hawk helicopter during sling-load operations on Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, Sept. 20, 2012. Mehring, a combat engineer, is assigned to Forward Support Company, 6th Engineer Battalion. U.S. Army photo by Percy Jones

ENGAGING TARGETS

U.S. Army Spc. Warren Feeley looks through a fire control system inside an M1126 infantry carrier vehicle while engaging targets with a .50-caliber remote weapons system during a live-fire training exercise on Pohakuloa Training Area, Hawaii, Sept. 19, 2012. Feeley is assigned to the 25th Infantry Division's Company A, 1st Battalion, 21st Infantry Regiment, 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team. DOD photo by U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Michael R. Holzworth

ISLAND TRAINING

Soldiers engage targets 200 to 1,000 meters away during a live fire training exercise on Pohakuloa Training Area, Hawaii, Sept. 19, 2012. DOD photo by U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Michael R. Holzworth