PENTAGON WELCOME

U.S. Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta hosts an honor cordon to welcome Canadian Defense Minister Peter G. MacKay to the Pentagon, Sept. 28, 2012. DOD photo by Glenn Fawcett

JOINT PRESS BRIEFING

U.S. Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta, left, and Canadian Defense Minister Peter G. MacKay hold a joint press conference at the Pentagon, Sept. 28, 2012. DOD photo by Glenn Fawcett

PRESS EVENT

U.S. Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta and Canadian Defense Minister Peter G. MacKay hold a joint press conference at the Pentagon, Sept. 28, 2012. DOD photo by Glenn Fawcett

CARGO CREW

U.S. Army Staff Sgt. James Bates pulls security as his team loads a tactical vehicle into the cargo bay of a CH-47 Chinook helicopter in the Pur Chaman district in Afghanistan's Farah province, Sept. 26, 2012. The mission marks the first time coalition forces have been to that district in more than a year. Bates is assigned to Provincial Reconstruction Team Farah, a unit of soldiers, sailors and airmen working with government and non-government agencies to improve governance and stability in the U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Jonathan Lovelady

TANK TALK

Deputy Defense Secretary Ashton B. Carter speaks with Marine Corps Staff Sgt. Michael Burkheart atop an amphibious assault vehicle on Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, Calif., Sept. 27, 2012. Carter and Navy Secretary Ray Maybus visited the USS Makin Island and units stationed on Camp Pendleton during their two-day visit to San Diego. DOD photo by U.S. Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Chad J. McNeeley

FOOT PATROL

U.S. Army Command Sgt. Maj. Frank A. Grippe, command senior enlisted leader for U.S. Central Command, speaks with soldiers on a foot patrol in the Panjwai district of southern Afghanistan, Sept. 22, 2012. Grippe visited the soldiers as part of his visit to Regional Command South. The soldiers are assigned to the 2nd Infantry Division's Company A, 1st Battalion, 23rd Infantry Regiment. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Matt Young

CAFE STOP

U.S. Army Command Sgt. Maj. Frank A. Grippe, left, command senior enlisted leader for U.S. Central Command, and Command Sgt. Maj. Edd Watson, 3rd Infantry Division and Regional Command South command sergeant major, enjoy some chow at the Carbon Rod Cafe after conducting a foot patrol in the Panjwai district of southern Afghanistan, Sept. 22, 2012. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Matt Young

WEAPONS TEST

The forward deployed guided-missile cruiser USS Cowpens fires its Phalanx close-in weapons system during a weapons test while under way in the Pacific Ocean, Sept. 6, 2012. Cowpens is part of the George Washington Carrier Strike Group, the U.S. Navy’s only forward deployed carrier strike group based out of Yokosuka, Japan. U.S. Navy photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Paul Kelly