KUWAITI LEADERS

U.S. Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta meets with Kuwaiti leader before a meeting with Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al Sabah, Amir of the State of Kuwait, in Kuwait City, Kuwait, Dec. 11, 2012. DOD photo by Erin A. Kirk-Cuomo

WOMEN'S MEETING

A U.S. service member, left, a U.S. civilian, center, and an Afghan woman who serves on the Farah Provincial Council, right, take part in a senior meeting on women's issues in Farah, Afghanistan, Dec. 6, 2012. The soldier is assigned to the Provincial Reconstruction Team Farah. The women's shura was held in conjunction with the 16-Day Campaign to End Violence Against Women. U.S. Navy photo by Lt. j.g. Matthew Stroup

PRESENCE PATROL

A coalition force member leads fellow troops off base for a presence patrol in Farah province, Afghanistan, Dec. 9, 2012. Coalition forces were conducting a patrol to assess the Afghan local police in the village. Afghan Local Police complement counterinsurgency efforts by assisting and supporting rural areas with limited Afghan national security forces presence. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Pete Thibodeau

PATROL BUDDIES

Afghan children walk alongside a coalition force member during a presence patrol in Farah province, Afghanistan, Dec. 9, 2012. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Pete Thibodeau

CHRISTMAS CARGO

U.S. Air Force loadmasters inside a C-130H aircraft prepare humanitarian goods destined for remote islands within the Micronesian Islands during the 61st anniversary of Operation Christmas Drop, Dec. 11, 2012. The loadmasters, are assigned to the 36th Airlift Squadron, Yokota Air Base, Japan. U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Samuel Morse

GLOBETROTTER'S JUMP

Quade "Quake" Milum, a member of the Harlem Globetrotters, dunks the ball during an exhibition game on the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis under way in the Arabian Sea, Dec. 7, 2012. U.S. Navy photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Kenneth Abbate

FLIGHT PRESSER

U.S. Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta conducts a press conference during a flight en route to Kuwait City, Kuwait, Dec. 10, 2012. DOD photo by Erin A. Kirk-Cuomo

KUWAIT ARRIVAL

U.S. Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta meets Kuwaiti military members upon his arrival in Kuwait City, Kuwait, Dec. 11, 2012. DOD photo by Erin A. Kirk-Cuomo