PACIFIC OCEAN (Sept. 22, 2011) A Sailor stands as a safety observer during a test of the forward catapults aboard the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72). Abraham Lincoln is underway conducting a composite training unit exercise. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Travis K. Mendoza.
Army paratroopers load into C-17 Globemaster III aircraft for a mass-tactical airborne training operation on Pope Field near Fort Bragg, N.C., Sept. 10, 2011. The paratroopers are assigned to the 82nd Airborne Division's 1st Brigade Combat Team. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Michael J. MacLeod.
An Airman with the 20th Equipment Maintenance Squadron holds his wife and daughter before deploying Sept. 19, 2011, at Shaw Air Force Base, S.C. U.S. Air Force photo by Airman First Class Hunter Brady.
Air Force Airman 1st Class Jason Vanover helps assemble unguided conventional bombs during a practice run for the second annual Air Force Global Strike Command Global Strike Challenge in Minot, N.D., Aug. 16, 2011. Minot airmen from both the 5th Bomb Wing and the 91st Missile Wing have participated in this year's event, which runs through November. Vanover is a 5th Munitions Squadron maintenance crew member. U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Aaron-Forrest Wainwright.
U.S. Marine Corps Sgt. Calvin Nash waits for the dust to clear after a controlled detonation during a patrol in Sangin, Afghanistan, on Sept. 8, 2011. The Marines are using the explosives to destroy abandoned compounds that block views from security posts. Nash is a squad leader with 3rd Platoon, Alpha Company, 1st Battalion, 5th Marines, Regimental Combat Team 8. DoD photo by Cpl. Nathan McCord, U.S. Marine Corps
An F-22 Raptor flies over Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, Sept. 21, 2011, after a four month stand down. Air Force senior leaders recently approved an implementation plan that will allow the F-22 to resume flight operations. The stand down of the fleet was directed May 3, 2011, as a safety precaution following 12 separate reported incidents of pilots experiencing hypoxia-like symptoms. US Air Force photo by Senior Airman Cynthia Spalding.
Navy Lt. Cmdr. Karl Haywood reunites with his daughter after returning from an eight-month deployment in Iraq on Naval Air Station North Island, San Diego, Sept. 18, 2011. Haywood is assigned to Explosive Ordnance Disposal Group 1. U.S. Navy photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Michael Russell.
Air Force Senior Airman Jonathon Hartman marshals in a B-1B Lancer aircraft during Green Flag-West 11-10 on Nellis Air Force Base, Nev., Sept. 20, 2011. Hartmand is a crew chief assigned to the 7th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron. Green Flag-West is a joint Air Force-Army unscripted battle exercise designed to train participants for complex air defense scenarios while supporting high-intensity ground operations.U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Brett Clashman.
A United States Marine takes the American flag into his hands before folding it with the flag detail at the POW/MIA Remembrance Day retreat ceremony on Sept. 16, 2011, at Joint Base Charleston, S.C. Joint Base Charleston honored POW/MIA Remembrance Day with a 24-hour run that ended at the retreat ceremony followed by a wreath laying and a fly-over. DoD photo by Staff Sgt. Nicole Mickle. U.S. Air Force.
Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton meet with Gulf Cooperation Council ministers during a ministerial in New York, Sept. 23, 2011. The ministerial aims at deepening and strengthening security cooperation between the United States and the council, which includes Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates. DOD photo by U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Jacob N. Bailey.
U.S. Sailors assigned to the amphibious transport dock ship USS Denver (LPD 9) conduct a rigid hull inflatable boat recovery during a man overboard drill in the East China Sea Sept. 22, 2011. Denver was assigned to the Essex Amphibious Readiness Group and was forward deployed in Sasebo, Japan. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Casey H. Kyhl.
ATLANTIC OCEAN (Sept. 19, 2011) The MK-45 5 inch/54-caliber lightweight gun of the guided-missile destroyer USS Arleigh Burke (DDG 51) is fired during a live-fire exercise. Arleigh Burke is participating in Exercise Joint Warrior 2011-2. Joint Warrior serves as a certifying event for ships deploying with coalition forces in future operations. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Scott Pittman.
USS Essex (LHD 2) underway in the western Pacific Ocean with the embarked 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit (31st MEU) and Amphibious Squadron (PHIBRON) 11. Essex is the lead ship of the Essex Amphibious Ready Group. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Geronimo C. Aquino.
Sailors and Marines man the rails aboard the amphibious assault ship USS Boxer (LHD 4) as the ship arrives in Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam for a scheduled port visit. Boxer and the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit (13th MEU) are underway in the U.S. 3rd Fleet area of responsibility during a deployment to the western Pacific Ocean. U.S. Navy photo by Seaman Carrel Regis.
