Afpak Photo War
Archive 7

U.S. Army Sgt. Oscar Randels, assigned to Alpha Company, Special Troops Battalion, 3rd Brigade, 10th Mountain Division, calls for his fellow Soldiers, during a patrol through a water tunnel, in Logar province, Afghanistan, Aug. 28, 2009. (U.S. Army photo by Pvt, 1st Class Richard W. Jones Jr./Released) Location: FOB Shank. Date Posted: 9/16/2009

Two U.S. Army Soldiers, of Baker Platoon 3rd Battalion, 509th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division look on as a supply aircraft brings in water and food, atop a mountain ridge, outside the village of Marsac, during Operation Champion Spear, in Paktia province, Afghanistan, Sept. 3, 2009.(U.S. Army photo by Spc. Christopher Nicholas/Released) Date Posted: 9/16/2009

U.S. Soldiers assigned to Bravo Company, Division Special Troops Battalion, 82nd Airborne Division listen to their platoon leader's safety briefing at Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan, prior to a mission Sept. 6, 2009. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Teddy Wade/Released) Date Posted: 9/16/2009

U.S. Army Soldiers, from 1st Platoon, Apache Company, 2nd Battalion, 87th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, conduct a dismounted patrol through a village, in Tangi Valley, in Wardak province, of Afghanistan Aug. 29, 2009. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Teddy Wade/Released) Date Posted: 9/16/2009

A U.S. Marine from Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron (HMH) 362 hugs his wife and child at Hangar 5 at Marine Corps Air Station Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii, Aug. 18, 2009. Following a deployment to Afghanistan, HMH-362 returned to its home station. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Geoffrey T. Campbell/Released) Date Posted: 9/15/2009

A soldier from the U.S. Army's 118th Military Police Co. , based at Fort Bragg, N.C. , respond to shots fired at a combat outpost in the Jalrez Valley in Afghanistan's Wardak Province, Friday, Sept. 18, 2009. AP

In this Wednesday Aug. 19, 2009 photo, Spc. Paul Pickett, 22, of Minden La. , right, of the U.S. Army's Apache Company, 2nd Battalion 87th Infantry Regiment, part of the 3rd Combat Brigade 10th Mountain Division based out of Fort Drum, N.Y. , covers a injured U.S. soldier as a helicopter lands to evacuate the wounded after their armored vehicle hit an improvised explosive device in the Tangi Valley of Afghanistan's Wardak Province. AP

Spc. Paul Pickett, 22, of Minden La. , top, of the U.S. Army's Apache Company, 2nd Battalion 87th Infantry Regiment, part of the 3rd Combat Brigade 10th Mountain Division based out of Fort Drum, N.Y. , comforts a wounded soldier after their armored vehicle hit an improvised explosive device in the Tangi Valley of Afghanistan's Wardak Province on Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2009. AP

In this Wednesday Aug. 19, 2009 photo, Spc. Paul Pickett, 22, of Minden La., right, of the U.S. Army's 3rd Platoon Apache Company, 2nd Battalion 87th Infantry Regiment, part of the 3rd Combat Brigade 10th Mountain Division based out of Fort Drum, N.Y., helps evacuate a wounded soldier after their armored vehicle hit an improvised explosive device in the Tangi Valley of Afghanistan's Wardak Province. AP

In this Wednesday Aug. 19, 2009 photo made available Saturday Aug. 22, 2009, soldiers of the U.S. Army's Apache Company, 2nd Battalion 87th Infantry Regiment, part of the 3rd Combat Brigade 10th Mountain Division based out of Fort Drum, N.Y., evacuate a wounded soldier after their armored vehicle hit an improvised explosive device in the Tangi Valley of Afghanistan's Wardak Province. AP

Soldiers of the U.S. Army's Apache Company, 2nd Battalion 87th Infantry Regiment, part of the 3rd Combat Brigade 10th Mountain Division based out of Fort Drum, N.Y. , evacuate a wounded soldier, Spc. Jeff Sliker, 21, of Middletown, R.I. , to a waiting helicopter after their armored vehicle hit an improvised explosive device in the Tangi Valley of Afghanistan's Wardak Province Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2009. AP

In this Wednesday Aug. 19, 2009 photo made available Saturday, Aug. 22, 2009, two wounded U.S. soldiers of the U.S. Army's Apache Company 2nd Battalion 87th Infantry Regiment, part of the 3rd Combat Brigade 10th Mountain Division based out of Fort Drum, N.Y. , grab each other's hands while being loaded side by side into a medi-vac helicopter after their armored vehicle hit an improvised explosive device in the Tangi Valley of Afghanistan's Wardak Province. AP

Jared Monti Source

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/18/us/18obama.html

Medal of Honor Is Given to Hero of Afghan Battle

President Obama awarded the Medal of Honor on Thursday to Sgt. First Class Jared C. Monti, who died three years ago in Afghanistan after plunging into enemy fire to rescue one of his soldiers struck down in an intense gunfight near the Pakistan border.

“Today is not about high officials and those with stars on their shoulders,” Mr. Obama said. “It’s a celebration of a young soldier and those who loved him, who made him into the man he was.”

The president told the story from the night of June 21, 2006, when Sergeant Monti and his patrol from the 10th Mountain Division had been trudging down dirt roads, sloshing through rivers and hiking steep trails for three days in Nuristan Province. As soldiers began passing out water, Mr. Obama said, a tree line exploded in a wall of fire.

“One member of the patrol said it was like thousands of rifles crackling,” he said. “Bullets and heavy machine-gun fire ricocheting across the rocks, rocket-propelled grenades raining down, fire so intense that weapons were shot right out of their hands.”

For Sergeant Monti, 30, this was a second rotation in Afghanistan. In his first tour of duty, he won the Bronze Star and an Army Commendation Medal. He had enlisted in the Army at age 17, after dreaming as a young boy of being a soldier.

On that night three years ago, his patrol was on a scouting mission in the rugged and remote northeast region of Afghanistan, working ahead of a larger offensive against the Taliban. A helicopter delivering supplies blew the soldiers’ cover, and insurgent fighters converged on them.

Pvt. Brian Bradbury of St. Joseph, Mo., was shot during the encounter. Then, Mr. Obama said, Sergeant Monti “handed off his radio, tightened his chin strap” and ran into enemy fire.

“Jared Monti did something no amount of training can instill,” the president said. “His patrol leader said he’d go, but Jared said, ‘No, he is my soldier; I’m going to get him.’ ”

On Sergeant Monti’s third effort to reach Private Bradbury, a rocket-propelled grenade struck him a few yards shy of his wounded comrade. Before the night was over, three soldiers were fatally wounded, among them Private Bradbury.

“The actions we honor today were not a passing moment of courage,” Mr. Obama said. “They were the culmination of a life of character and commitment.”

Sergeant Monti would have turned 34 this week. He is the nation’s 3,448th recipient of the Medal of Honor, and the first Army soldier to be awarded the distinction from the Afghanistan war.

_________

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/18/opinion/18fri4.html

Remembering Sergeant Monti

By LAWRENCE DOWNES

Published: September 17, 2009

Staff Sgt. Jared Monti could have stayed where he was.

Under ferocious attack from about 50 Taliban fighters in northern Afghanistan and taking cover behind rocks with his badly outnumbered patrol, he could have waited for artillery and airstrikes to beat back the enemy.

But only yards away, on open ground, one of his men, a private, lay dying. Sergeant Monti dashed out to bring him to safety. Enemy fire forced him to retreat. He ran out again. More bullets and shrapnel forced him back. The enemy was so close that the patrol members could hear voices; the gunfire was so withering that one soldier had a rifle blown from his hands.

The third time Sergeant Monti tried, he was struck by a rocket-propelled grenade. He died within minutes.

It’s impossible to pinpoint where Sergeant Monti, of the 10th Mountain Division in Fort Drum, N.Y., got his courage and selflessness. Maybe from his parents, a nurse and a teacher, or from the Army, where sacrifice and service are part of the drill. Maybe he had those virtues all along.

Whatever their source, they came out in full force on that desperate night in June 2006. When President Obama presented Sergeant Monti’s Medal of Honor to his parents, Janet and Paul, at the White House on Thursday, he retold the stunning act of valor. He repeated the sergeant’s words, which made it a simple matter of duty: “No, he is my soldier. I’m going to get him.”

It is no detraction from Sergeant Monti’s singular sacrifice to note that unselfish courage is hardly uncommon in combat. His story is one among thousands that have emerged from Afghanistan and Iraq, as in any war. Here is another: After the firefight, when the wounded private, Brian Bradbury, and a medic, Staff Sgt. Heathe Craig, were being hoisted to a helicopter, a cable snapped, and they fell to their deaths.

These are three of the dead from two conflicts that have killed more than 5,000 Americans since 2001. Rarely, very rarely, the country takes notice. Some of us paused briefly to do so on Thursday, then went on with our business. Medals and speeches, and newspaper articles, are inadequate in the face of such sacrifice, as Lincoln noted almost 150 years ago. There is little the rest of us can do, except to remember, with gratitude, what people like Sergeant Monti have done.

Afghans watch the crater on a road, caused by Thursday's suicide car bomb targeting Italian army soldiers convoy in Kabul, Afghanistan, Friday, Sept. 18, 2009. The suicide car bomber killed six Italian soldiers and 10 Afghan civilians in the heavily guarded capital of Kabul on Sept. 17, 2009, a grim reminder of the Taliban's reach amid political uncertainty in Afghanistan. AP

ISAF soldiers wrap the body of a comrade killed after a suicide bomber hit an Italian ISAF convoy killing six soldiers while wounding four on September 17, 2009 in Kabul, Afghanistan. Ten civilian Afghans were killed while leaving 55 wounded as the blast hit in a mostly residential area of the city. Italian soldiers suffered their deadliest attack out of the 2,800 soldiers that are currently stationed in Afghanistan from Italy. Getty

This is a reproduction of a photo provided by the Italian Army of Italian army 1st Corporal Major Matteo Mureddu, on display in the sacrary of fallen soldiers of the Italian Army in Rome, one of the six soldiers who died in an attack on an Italian military convoy in Kabul which also killed 10 Afghan civilians, Thursday, Sept. 17, 2009. The other victims, all paratroopers of the Italian 186th Folgore regiment, were: 1st Corporal Major Davide Ricchiuto; Liutenant Antonio Fortunato; Sargeant Major Roberto Valente; 1st Corporal Major Giandomenico Pistonami; Corporal Major (scelto) Massimiliano Randino. AP

Liutenant Antonio Fortunato

1st Corporal Major Giandomenico Pistonami

Corporal Major (scelto) Massimiliano Randino

Sargeant Major Roberto Valente

1st Corporal Major Davide Ricchiuto

People react as the hearses carrying the coffins of Jason Dunn-Bridgeman, 20, of 2nd Battalion The Duke of Lancaster's Regiment, who died in a firefight in the Babaji district of Helmand province and Corporal John Harrison, 29, of the Parachute Regiment, who was killed in a pre-dawn operation on September 9 to rescue Stephen Farrell, a reporter with the New York Times on Sunday, pass mourners lining the High Street on September 17, 2009 in Wootton Bassett, England. The repatriation of the two soldiers to nearby RAF Lyneham, comes on the day that it emerged that the Queen is supporting a call to rename the patriotic town Royal Wooton Basset in gratitude for the way it honours the war dead. It also was revealed today that the family of Sergeant Paul McAleese (who died on August 20 in Afghanistan, when a bomb went off, as he rushed to help a comrade dying from injuries sustained in an earlier blast) has written a letter blaming the Prime Minister. Getty

U.S. President Barack Obama listens to the reading of the citation before giving the Medal of Honor posthumously to Sergeant First Class Jared C. Monti during a ceremony at the White House in Washington September 17, 2009. At left is Jared's father Paul Monti who, along with his wife Janet, accepted the medal. Jared Monti was awarded the medal for his courage and valor in Afghanistan, sacrificing his own life to save his comrade during a firefight. Reuters

Members of the Army 10th Mountain Division who served with Army Sgt. 1st. Class Jared C. Monti from Raynham, Mass, stand and are acknowledged by his father Paul Monti, right, as President Barack Obama posthumously awards Monti the Medal of Honor for his service in Afghanistan, Thursday, Sept. 17, 2009, during a ceremony in the East Room of the White House in Washington. AP

A view of a sacrary displaying the six photos, of the fallen soldiers from the Italian Army, who died in an attack on an Italian military convoy in Kabul which also killed 10 Afghan civilians, seen in Rome, Thursday, Sept. 17, 2009. The victims, all paratroopers of the Italian 186th Folgore regiment, were in the photos on the table from left to right, 1st Corporal Major Matteo Mureddu, 1st Corporal Major Davide Ricchiuto, Liutenant Antonio Fortunato, Sargeant Major Roberto Valente, 1st Corporal Major Giandomenico Pistonami, and Corporal Major (scelto) Massimiliano Randino. Italy said Thursday that its troops will remain in Afghanistan, despite suffering its deadliest attack to date in the country, a suicide car bombing that killed six soldiers and wounded four, although one minister said he hoped the soldiers could return home by year's end. AP

Italian army Corporal-Major Davide Ricchiuto (L), who was killed by a suicide car bomber in Afghanistan, is pictured cooking with an unidentified man in this undated family photo released September 17, 2009 in Tiggiano. A suicide car bomber killed at least 16 people, including Ricchiuto and five other Italian soldiers, in an attack on a military convoy on a road in the centre of Kabul on Thursday, the worst strike suffered by Italians in Afghanistan. Reuters

A comrade holds a photo of Italian army Sergeant Major Roberto Valente outside the family home in Naples, September 17, 2009, after Valente was killed by a suicide car bomber in Afghanistan. The suicide car bomber killed at least 16 people, including six Italian soldiers, in an attack on a military convoy on a road in the centre of Kabul on Thursday, the worst strike suffered by Italians in Afghanistan. Reuters

Italian soldiers stand by the body of a comrade killed after a suicide bomber hit an Italian ISAF convoy killing six soldiers while wounding four on September 17, 2009 in Kabul, Afghanistan. Ten civilian Afghans were killed while leaving 55 wounded as the blast hit in a mostly residential area of the city. Italian soldiers suffered their deadliest attack out of the 2,800 soldiers that are currently stationed in Afghanistan from Italy. Getty

Italian soldiers stand by the body of a comrade killed after a suicide bomber hit an Italian ISAF convoy killing six soldiers while wounding four on September 17, 2009 in Kabul, Afghanistan. Ten civilian Afghans were killed while leaving 55 wounded as the blast hit in a mostly residential area of the city. Italian soldiers suffered their deadliest attack out of the 2,800 soldiers that are currently stationed in Afghanistan from Italy. Getty

Italian soldiers inspect the bodies of their own soldiers killed after a suicide bomber hit an Italian ISAF convoy killing six soldiers while wounding four on September 17, 2009 in Kabul, Afghanistan. Ten civilian Afghans were killed while leaving 55 wounded as the blast hit in a mostly residential area of the city. Italian soldiers suffered their deadliest attack out of the 2,800 soldiers that are currently stationed in Afghanistan from Italy. Getty

Italian soldiers of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) stand near the bodies of their fallen comrades who were killed by a blast which struck vehicles with the NATO-led force in Kabul on September 17, 2009. Six foreign soldiers from the NATO-led force in Afghanistan were killed when a suicide car bomb struck Italian vehicles in Kabul on September 17, a NATO spokesman said. Getty

Italian International Security Assistance Force, ISAF, soldiers react after a suicide car bomb attack on their armored convoy, in Kabul, Afghanistan, Thursday, Sept. 17, 2009. A suicide car bomb hit vehicles carrying foreign troops near the U.S. Embassy and an American military base in Afghanistan's capital on Thursday, killing at least ten people and wounding dozens. AP

Italian soldiers of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) inspect their destroyed vehicle at the site of a blast which struck vehicles with the NATO-led force in Kabul on September 17, 2009. Six foreign soldiers from the NATO-led force in Afghanistan were killed when a suicide car bomb struck Italian vehicles in Kabul on September 17, a NATO spokesman said. Getty

A white covered dead body is seen at the site of a suicide car bomb attack targeting an Italian military convoy with the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Kabul, Afghanistan, Thursday, Sept. 17, 2009. Getty

U.S. Army Soldiers of Delaware Company, 1st Battalion, 501st Battalion, 4th Brigade, 25th Infantry Division, wake up at their patrol base atop a mountain outside of the village of Marsac, Paktia province, Afghanistan, Aug. 9, 2009. As part of Operation Champion Spear. (U.S. Army photo by Spc. Christopher Nicholas/Released) Date Posted: 9/17/2009

U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Barkett W. Manning, left, Sgt. Brandon S. Skolnick, center, and a U.S. Marine cut a sheep loose from security wire at a vehicle checkpoint in Nawa District, Helmand Province, Afghanistan, Sept. 6, 2009. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. John M. McCall/Released) Date Posted: 9/17/2009

In this undated photo provided by the Department of Defense via the The Times and Democrat, Spc. Demetrius L. Void is shown. A Pentagon statement issued Wednesday Sept. 16, 2009, says Spc. Demetrius L. Void of Orangeburg, S.C. , was performing physical training at Kandahar Airfield on Tuesday when he was struck and killed by a military vehicle in Afghanistan. Void was assigned to the 57th Expeditionary Battalion, 11th Signal Brigade, III Corps, Fort Hood, Texas. AP

U.S. Army Soldiers sleep on a hillside, as the moon sets in the distance, near Sar Howza, in Paktika province, Afghanistan, Sept. 5, 2009. The Soldiers are deployed with Bulldog Troop, 1st Squadron, 40th Cavalry Regiment. (U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Andrew Smith/Released) Date Posted: 9/16/2009

U.S. Army Soldiers sleep in a hasty fighting position, on a cold morning, after a night patrol, in the mountains near Sar Howza, Paktika province, Afghanistan, Sept. 4, 2009. The Soldiers are deployed with Bulldog Troop, 1st Squadron, 40th Cavalry Regiment. (U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Andrew Smith/Released) Date Posted: 9/16/2009

U.S. Army Soldiers awake, in their hasty fighting position, after a night patrol in the mountains, near Sar Howza, in Paktika province, Afghanistan, Sept. 4, 2009. The Soldiers are deployed with Bulldog Troop, 1st Squadron, 40th Cavalry Regiment. (U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Andrew Smith/Released) Date Posted: 9/16/2009

U.S. Army Soldiers, from 1st and 3rd Platoons, Apache Company, 2nd Battalion, 87th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, wake up after spending the night inside a compound, in Tangi Valley, in Wardak province, of Afghanistan, Aug. 30, 2009. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Teddy Wade/Released) Date Posted: 9/16/2009

U.S. Army Soldiers, from 1st and 3rd Platoons, Apache Company, 2nd Battalion, 87th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, prepare to go out on patrol, after spending the night inside a compound, in Tangi Valley, in Wardak province, of Afghanistan, Aug. 30, 2009. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Teddy Wade/Released) Date Posted: 9/16/2009

U.S. Army Pvt. 1st Class Grella hangs a mortar round for Pvt. 1st Class Wiley, while they engage targets on a mountain side, during Operation Champion Spear, in Paktia province, Afghanistan, Sept. 6, 2009. The U.S. Soldiers, are assigned to Delaware Company, 1st Battalion, 501st Infantry Regiment (Airborne), 25th Infantry Division. (U.S. Army photo by Spc. Christopher Nicholas/Released) Date Posted: 9/16/2009

A U.S. Marine with 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment stands post at Patrol Base Jaker in Nawa district, Helmand province, Afghanistan, Sept. 9, 2009. The Marines are deployed with Regimental Combat Team 3, whose mission is to conduct counterinsurgency operations in partnership with Afghan security forces in southern Afghanistan. (U.S Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. James Purschwitz/Released) Date Posted: 9/16/2009

A U.S. Marine with 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment stands post outside a compound in Nawa district, Helmand province, Afghanistan, Sept. 9, 2009. The Marines are deployed with Regimental Combat Team 3, whose mission is to conduct counterinsurgency operations in partnership with Afghan security forces in southern Afghanistan. (U.S Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. James Purschwitz/Released) Date Posted: 9/16/2009

U.S. Marines attached to Police Mentoring Team (PMT), 2nd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment conduct a security patrol with Afghan Border Police (ABP) officers in the Garmsir district of Helmand province, Afghanistan, Sept. 10, 2009. ABP and the PMT are looking for possible enemy activity after reports that the Taliban are using the bazaar as a meeting place. The PMT is deployed with Regimental Combat Team 3 to conduct counterinsurgency operations with Afghan National Security Forces in southern Afghanistan. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Pete Thibodeau/Released) Date Posted: 9/16/2009

U.S. Army Soldiers of Alpha Company, 1st Battalion ,4th Infantry Regiment, U.S. Army Europe (USAREUR) take their firing positions on a roof top after a mortar landed at Forward Operating Base (FOB) Baylough in Zabul Province, Afghanistan, Sept.10, 2009. (U.S. Army photo by Specialist Tia P. Sokimson/Released) Date Posted: 9/16/2009

A U.S. Marine Corps mine-resistant, ambush-protected vehicle with 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment is driven past old wreckage from a convoy attacked by the Taliban in Nawa district, Helmand province, Afghanistan, Sept. 9, 2009. The Marines are deployed with Regimental Combat Team 3, whose mission is to conduct counterinsurgency operations in partnership with Afghan security forces in southern Afghanistan. (U.S Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. James Purschwitz/Released) Date Posted: 9/16/2009

U.S. Air Force Senior Airman Emily Ferguson, assigned to the 809th Expeditionary Red Horse Squadron, 1st Expeditionary Red Horse Group, lifts dumbbells during her morning physical fitness routine Sept. 10, 2009, at Forward Operating Base Dwyer, Afghanistan. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Shawn Weismiller/Released) Date Posted: 9/16/2009

U.S. Army Pfc. Raul Figueroa, assigned to Bravo Company, Division Special Troops Battalion, 82nd Airborne Division, sits on a cooler next to a stack of water bottles at a compound in the Kohi Safi district of Afghanistan Sept. 6, 2009. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Teddy Wade/Released) Date Posted: 9/16/2009

U.S. Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Douglas Evans, with Bravo Company, 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, mans his post with an MK-19 automatic grenade launcher at Forward Operating Base Blue Falcons Nest, Afghanistan, Sept. 9, 2009. The Marines are deployed with Regimental Combat Team 3 to conduct counterinsurgency operations with Afghan National Security Forces in southern Afghanistan. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Artur Shvartsberg/Released) Date Posted: 9/15/2009

CNN correspondent Anderson Cooper watches as U.S. Marines with Headquarters and Services Company, 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, talk to residents during a patrol in Nawa district, Helmand province, Afghanistan, Sept. 10, 2009. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Phillip Elgie/Released) Date Posted: 9/15/2009

U.S. Navy Hospital Corpsman 3rd Class Ryan Tucker, attached to Police Mentoring Team (PMT), 2nd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, reads while resting on the hood of a Humvee before a security patrol with Afghan Border Police (ABP) officers in the Garmsir district of Helmand province, Afghanistan, Sept. 10, 2009. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Pete Thibodeau/Released) Date Posted: 9/15/2009

U.S. Army Soldiers of Alpha Company, 1st Battalion, 4th Infantry Regiment, U.S. Army Europe(USAREUR) take their firing positions on a roof top after a mortar landed at Forward Operating Base(FOB)Baylough in Zabul Province, Afghanistan, Sept. 10, 2009. (U.S. Army photo by Specialist Tia P. Sokimson/Released) Date Posted: 9/14/2009

Barry Delaney kneels weeping as mourners gather at Barnhill Cenetery for the funeral of Black Watch soldier Kevin Elliot on September 15, 2009 in Dundee, Scotland. Private Elliot was killed during a rocket attack in the Babaji district of Helmand in Afghanistan. Delaney wagered Kevin Elliot that they would wear this lime-green dress to either's funeral. Getty

A transfer case containing the remains of Army Sgt. 1st Class Duane A. Thornsbury rests on a loader Monday, Sept. 14, 2009 at Dover Air Force Base, Del. According to the Department of Defense, Thornsbury, of Bridgeport, W.Va. , died while supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom. AP

Former US president Bill Clinton (C) walks US President Barack Obama (R) to his limousine outside of restaurant Il Mulino, where they had lunch together, in New York on September 14, 2009. Getty

This undated photo provided by the U.S. Army shows Pfc. Matthew M. Martinek of DeKallb, Ill. He died Sept. 11, 2009, from injuries suffered in an attack in Paktika Province, Afghanistan, on Sept. 4, 2009. Martinek, a paratrooper, was assigned to Fort Richardson, Alaska, in September 2008. AP

Rene Browne, the widow of Marine Sgt. William Cahir, who was killed in Afghanistan pays her final respects during a memorial service and posthumous Purple Heart ceremony at Bolling Air Force Base on Sunday, Sept. 13, 2009, in Washington. AP

Marines line up to pay their final respects during a memorial service and posthumous Purple Heart ceremony for Marine Sgt. William Cahir, who was killed in Afghanistan, at Bolling Air Force Base Sunday, Sept. 13, 2009, in Washington. AP

In this photo taken Sunday, Sept. 13, 2009, Pfc. Kendeall Travis from Spartanburgh, S.C. of the U.S. Army's 3rd Battalion 509th Infantry Regiment (Airborne), based at Fort Richardson, Alaska, patrols Zerok District, East Paktika province in Afghanistan. AP

In this photo taken Sunday, Sept. 13, 2009, Spc. Jonathan Daniels, from Murchison, Texas, a member of the U.S. Army's 3rd Battalion 509th Infantry Regiment (Airborne), based at Fort Richardson, Alaska, prepares to patrol through Zerok District, East Paktika province in Afghanistan. AP

In this photo taken Sunday, Sept. 13, 2009, Spc. Johnathan Daniels, from Murchison, Texas, a member of the U.S. Army's 3rd Battalion, 509th Infantry Regiment (Airborne), based at Fort Richardson, Alaska, patrols through Zerok District, East Paktika province in Afghanistan. AP

In this photo taken Sunday, Sept. 13, 2009, Spc. Johnathan Daniels, from Murchison, Texas, a member of the U.S. Army's 3rd Battalion, 509th Infantry Regiment (Airborne), based at Fort Richardson, Alaska, patrols through Zerok District, East Paktika province in Afghanistan. AP

Marines listen during a memorial service and posthumous Purple Heart ceremony for Marine Sgt. William Cahir, who was killed in Afghanistan, at Bolling Air Force Base on Sunday, Sept. 13, 2009 in Washington. AP

U.S. Soldiers, in a mine-resistant, ambush-protected vehicle, stop, to conduct a controlled detonation, of an unexploded ordinance, found earlier, in the Powrak area, of Logar province, Afghanistan, June 9, 2009. The Soldiers are from Joint Task Force Paladin Combined Improvised Explosive Device (IED) Team 15. (U.S.Army photo by Sgt. Joshua LaPere/Released) Date Posted: 6/18/2009

A U.S. Soldier, from Joint Task Force Paladin C-IED Team 15, responds to an improvised explosive device call, to find an anti-tank mine, which was found, and detonated in place, on a main road through Alozi, Logar province, Afghanistan, June 11, 2009. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Joshua LaPere/Released) Date Posted: 6/15/2009

A U.S. Soldier, from Joint Task Force Paladin Combined Improvised Explosive Device (IED) Team 15, stops, to conduct a controlled detonation, of an unexploded ordinance, found earlier, in the Powrak area, of Logar province, Afghanistan, June 9, 2009. (U.S.Army photo by Sgt. Joshua LaPere/Released) Date Posted: 6/18/2009

Combat engineers and explosive ordnance disposal specialists with the U.S. Marine Corps' Bravo Company, 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment search for improvised explosive devices and weapons caches during a security patrol in the Nawa district of Afghanistan's Helmand province Aug. 7, 2009. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Artur Shvartsberg/Released) Date Posted: 8/13/2009

A U.S. Marine from Delta Company of the 2nd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion uses an electric razor in early morning at a base near the town of Khan Neshin in Rig district of Helmand province, southern Afghanistan September 12, 2009. Reuters

Specialist Meredith Smith, from Virginia, assigned to 3-509th Infantry Regiment (Airborne) 4th BDE -25th Infantry Division from Fort Richardson, Alaska, tries to get some sleep inside the armored vehicle during a convoy operation in Zerok District, East Paktika province in Afghanistan, Friday, Sept. 11, 2009. AP

U.S. Army Spc. Daniel Conception patrols in the mountains, near Sar Howza, in Paktika province, Afghanistan, Sept. 2, 2009. Conception is deployed with Bulldog Troop, 1st Squadron, 40th Cavalry Regiment. (U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Andrew Smith/Released) Date Posted: 9/11/2009

A Coalition soldier sets up M18A1 Claymore mine at Border Control Point 6, Khowst province, Afghanistan, Sept. 3, 2009. (U.S. Army photo by Spc. Matthew Freire/Released) Date Posted: 9/11/2009

U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Sean Bailey grasps his weapon, while observing the mountainous terrain near Sar Howza, Paktika province, Afghanistan, Sep. 2, 2009. Bailey is deployed, with Bulldog Troop, 1st Squadron, 40th Cavalry Regiment. (U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Andrew Smith/Released) Date Posted: 9/11/2009

U.S. Marine Corps Sgt. Matthew Holzmann, with 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, patrols through the Nawa bazaar with a pack full of school supplies in Nawa district, Helmand province, Afghanistan, Sept. 8, 2009. The school supplies will be given to the children at the Nawa schoolhouse. (U.S Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Jeremy Harris/Released) Date Posted: 9/11/2009

U.S. Army Soldiers are returning from a dismounted patrol at Forward Operating Base (FOB) Baylough in Zabul Province, Afghanistan, Sept. 4, 2009. The Soldiers are from Alpha Company, 1st Battalion, 4th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade, 25th Infantry Division. (U.S. Army photo by Specialist Tia P. Sokimson/Released) Date Posted: 9/11/2009

Shown here is damage to a building caused by a low-flying helicopter at Forward Operating Base Cherokee in Nawa district, Helmand province, Afghanistan, Sept. 7, 2009. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. James Purschwitz/Released) Date Posted: 9/11/2009

A U.S. Marine with 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment discusses the improvised explosive devices that were found in the Nawa district of Helmand province, Afghanistan, with Anderson Cooper of Cable News Network Sept. 8, 2009. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. James Purschwitz/Released) Date Posted: 9/10/2009

U.S. Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Chris Odom, with Bravo Company, 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, provides security during a patrol through the Nawa district of Helmand province, Afghanistan, Sept. 8, 2009. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Artur Shvartsberg/Released) Date Posted: 9/10/2009

In this undated photo released by the U.S. Army, Sgt. Youvert Loney is shown. The military announced Thursday that 28-year-old Sgt. Youvert Loney of Pohnpei, Micronesia, died Sept. 5 in Abad, Afghanistan. Loney was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 12th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, Fort Carson, Colo.

A Marine carry team carries a transfer case containing the remains of Marine Lance Cpl. Christopher S. Fowlkes Friday, Sept. 11, 2009 at Dover Air Force Base, Del. According to the Department of Defense, Fowlkes, of Gaffney, S.C. , died while supporting Operation Enduring Freedom. AP

Adm. Mike Mullen, center, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, walks with other military officials during a transfer of the remains of Marine Staff Sgt. Aaron Kenefick and Army Pfc. Zachary T. Myers Thursday, Sept. 10, 2009 at Dover Air Force Base, Del. According to the Department of Defense, Kenefick, of Williamsville, N.Y. , died while supporting Operation Enduring Freedom and Myers, of Delaware, Ohio, died while supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom. AP

Soldiers carry the casket of one of the two French soldiers killed in Afghanistan, during a funeral ceremony Friday Sept. 11, 2009 in Vannes, western France. Two French soldiers were killed and eight others injured when their vehicles were hit by a bomb near Bagram Air Base north of Kabul, on Sept. 4, 2009. Both soldiers were awarded with the Legion of Honor posthumously by French President Nicolas Sarkozy. AP

Family and friends salute during burial services for Master Sgt. Adam Frank Benjamin, United States Marine Corps, at Arlington National Cemetery on September 10, 2009 in Arlington, Virginia. Master Sgt. Benjamin, an explosives ordnance disposal technician, died in the Helmand province of Afghanistan during combat operations that turned hostile. Benjamin was deployed twice to Iraq, from February to October 2007 and again from February to September 2008 and received several awards, including commendation medals and achievement medals from both the Navy and Marine Corps. Getty