U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM)'s photostream  

Soldiers with A Troop, 1st Squadron, 13th Cavalry, stand guard while on patrol in Wardak Province, Afghanistan on Nov. 12. Deployed from Fort Bliss, Texas, the soldier are working with Afghan security forces to build stability in the region. (Photo by Sergeant Victor R. Everhart, The U.S. Army)

Military policemen assigned to Headquarters Company, 2nd Brigade Special Troops Battalion, 2nd Brigade, 82nd Airborne Division, take a knee during a dismounted patrol along a road outside Camp Taji, Iraq, Dec. 2. The MPs rolled out long before sunrise to patrol roads outside the camp to ensure the safety of 2/82 convoys traveling through the area from Baghdad. The 2nd Brigade is the last brigade in Baghdad and is facilitating the withdrawal of U.S. military forces from Iraq.

U.S. Marine Lance Cpl. Philip Munro, a 19-year-old intelligence specialist with Guard Force Platoon, 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment and native of Erie, Pa., provides security outside the district center here, Nov. 28. Guard Force isn’t a traditional infantry platoon. It’s a melting pot of Marines from various occupational specialties that functions as the main security element for the battalion headquarters at Forward Operating Base Delhi. During their seven-month deployment, the Guard Force Marines will labor through an endless cycle of standing post and conducting security patrols in the local area. In their down time, they stand ready to function as a quick reaction team.

U.S. Marine Sgt. Marcus Martin, a 32-year-old squad leader with Guard Force Platoon, 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment and native of Charlottesville, Va., practices Pashto with Afghan boys while providing security outside the district center here, Nov. 28. Guard Force isn’t a traditional infantry platoon. It’s a melting pot of Marines from various occupational specialties that functions as the main security element for the battalion headquarters at Forward Operating Base Delhi. During their seven-month deployment, the Guard Force Marines will labor through an endless cycle of standing post and conducting security patrols in the local area. In their down time, they stand ready to function as a quick reaction team.

U.S. Air Force Senior Airman David Cummings, Provincial Reconstruction Team Zabul medic, talks to an Afghan boy outside of the hospital during a dismounted patrol in Shah Joy, Afghanistan, Nov. 21, 2011. Members of PRT Zabul went to the hospital to conduct a key leader engagement. Cummings is deployed from Lackland Air Force Base, San Antonio, Texas. U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Grovert Fuentes-Contreras