The ground shakes as a U.S. Army M109A6 Paladin Howitzer fires a gas-propelled 155mm round as the unit calibrates the gun at Destiny Range in Mosul, Iraq, Apr. 23, 2010. The soldiers are assigned to the 3rd Infantry Division's 1st Battalion, 9th Field Artillery, 2nd Heavy Brigade Combat Team. U.S. Army photo by Spc. Gregory Gieske
An inflatable tub is filled with water that will be pumped into a C-130 Hercules equipped with Modular Airborne Fire Fighting Systems at the South Carolina Technology and Aviation Center, Greenville, S.C., April 27, 2010. MAFFS deploys a fire retardant mixed with fertilizer and red dye, but water is used for training purposes. U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Eric Harris
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The multi-purpose amphibious assault ship USS Iwo Jima arrives at Port Everglades for the start of Navy Week Port Everglades, Fla., April 26, 2010. This is the twentieth navy week in Port Everglades, South Florida's annual celebration of the maritime services. Navy Week Port Everglades is one of 20 Navy weeks planned across America this year. U.S Navy photo by Scott Lehr
GUANTANAMO BAY, Cuba (April 29, 2010) The U.S. Coast Guard Medium Endurance-class cutter USCGC Seneca (WMEC-906) gets underway from the Naval Station Guantanamo (GTMO) Bay, Cuba after taking on fuel and stores. Seneca is deployed to the U.S. 4th Fleet Caribbean area conducting counter-narco-terrorism and migrant operations. GTMO is a logistical hub for the U.S. Navy, U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Army and Allied vessels operating in the Caribbean theater. (U.S. Navy photo by Chief Mass Communication Specialist Bill Mesta/Released)
U.S. Marine Corps Cpl. Timothy Stark meets with a farmer and his family to determine if he's changed his crop from poppy in Marja, Afghanistan, April 23, 2010. U.S. and Afghan forces met with local farmers and landowners participating in the Marja Accelerated Agricultural Transition program. Stark is a squad leader assigned to Weapons Company, 1st Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. James Clark
Richard Mendiola, a public works employee at Naval Station Ingleside, removes the lettering from the base sign as Naval Station Ingleside prepares to close. (U.S. Navy photo by Fifi Kieschnick)
U.S. Army Chief of Staff Gen. George W. Casey Jr. tours the inside of a static aircraft that Jordanian forces use for special operations training at a compound outside Amman, Jordan, April 26, 2010. U.S. Army photo by D. Myles Cullen
ATLANTIC OCEAN (April 25, 2010) Aircraft are secured in the hangar bay of the aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77) as a storm approaches. George H.W. Bush is conducting carrier qualifications in the Atlantic Ocean. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Apprentice Michael Smevog/Released)
An AH-64 Apache attack helicopter makes its way down the flight line departing on a night reconnaissance mission on Camp Taji Army Airfield, Iraq, April 18, 2010. The Apache crew is assigned to the 1st Infantry Division's Combat Aviation Brigade. U.S. Army photo by Spc. Roland Hale
U.S. and Afghan soldiers walk with Afghan civilians to a helicopter pick-up landing site in the village of Kopak in the Mohammud-Agha district, Logar province, Afghanistan, April 22, 2010. The U.S. soldiers, assigned to the 3rd Infantry Division's 4th Battalion, 3rd Aviation Regiment, Combat Aviation Brigade, visited Kopak to meet with Afghan soldiers and village elders. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Russell Gilchrest
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Deputy Defense Secretary William J. Lynn III talks with Navy Cmd. (Dr.) Alfred Shwayhat on board the USS Carl Vinson in port at Naval Air Station North Island, Calif., April 26, 2010. DoD photo by U.S. Air Force Master Sgt. Jerry Morrison
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A UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter flies over some scenic landscape while traveling to the location of a planned leaflet drop in Joghatoe district, Logar province, Afghanistan, April 23, 2010. The leaflets are informing the people of Joghatoe district of an upcoming radio broadcast. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Russell Gilchrest
Marines roll through the Salaam Bazaar in Helmand province heavily manned. Enemy contact was imminent as they patrolled through the known Taliban stronghold. While clearing the area, April 14, the Marines of Alpha Company, 1st Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, Regimental Combat Team 2, along with the Afghan national army and the Afghan national police encountered heavy resistance from insurgent forces. (Photos by Cpl. Daniel A. Blatter)
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Capt. Kurando Mensen inspects a Very Small Aperture Terminal dish at a civilian airport March 17, 2010, in Iraq. Captain Mensen is a communications planner for the Air Component Coordination Element-Iraq. (Courtesy photo)
