An MV-22B Osprey from Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 263, 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit, prepares to land on the flight deck of the amphibious assault ship USS Bataan during routine flight operations.

Members of Task Force Cyclone load a Chinook helicopter while another lands in Surkh-e Parsa district, Parwan province, Afghanistan, Nov. 16. Task Force Cyclone's mission was to check on current building projects, meet with Afghan police officials and talk with civilians about concerns in the area. Photo by Spc. William Henry

An Afghan national army soldier speaks with the elder of one of the villages visited Sept. 23 during Operation Gator Crawl. Photo by Cpl. Daniel Flynn

An Indiana National Guard Soldier fires his M4 Assault Rifle on a range at the Camp Atterbury Joint Maneuver Training Center in central Indiana, Jan. 22. His unit is training for deployment to Afghanistan slated for the following

Petty Officer Scott "Doc K" Kuniyuki, Medic from Provincial Reconstruction Team Ghazni, provides security for the landing zone during 9-line training with Polish medics and Special Forces along with U.S. Army personnel on the side of a mountain inside Ghazni province, Afghanistan. Photo by Master Sgt. Sarah Webb

An F/A-18C Hornet from Carrier Air Wing 5 prepares to land aboard the aircraft carrier USS George Washington. George Washington, the Navy's only permanently forward-deployed aircraft carrier, is underway supporting security and stability in the western Pacific Ocean. Photo by Petty Officer 1st Class John Hageman

U.S. Army Sgt. Benjamin Cascarano, from Lisle, Ill., Security Forces member assigned to Ghazni Provincial Reconstruction Team, keeps watch as members of the Ghazni PRT conduct a quality assurance/quality control inspection at the construction site of the Ergato comprehensive health clinic located in Waghez district, Ghazni province, Feb. 3. Photo by Master Sgt. Sarah Webb Date: 02.03.2010

U.S. Soldiers with Bravo Battery, 3rd Battalion, 17th Field Artillery Regiment fire a 155mm illumination round using an M-777A2 towed howitzer at Spin Boldak, Afghanistan, Jan. 10. (Photo by: Tech Sgt. Francisco V. Govea II)

MV-22B Ospreys with Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 263 (Reinforced), 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit, fly over the Egyptian coastline during Exercise Bright Star 2009 in Egypt, Oct. 12. The multinational exercise is designed to improve readiness, interoperability, and strengthen the military and professional relationships among U.S., Egyptian and participating forces

Residents of western Paktika stand in line to receive saplings handed out by members of the provincial government, the Paktika Provincial Reconstruction Team, and the 3rd Battalion, 187th Infantry Regiment, March 24. Afghan national security forces escorted the tree saplings to their respective district for distribution as well as providing security for the class and distribution process to prevent thievery and corruption. These trees will be equally distributed and planted throughout the region in order to allow the root systems to hold the soil in place.