PRESS BRIEFING

Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta and Army Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, brief the press at the Pentagon Sept. 25, 2012. DOD photo by Erin A. Kirk-Cuomo

PUR CHAMAN MISSION

U.S. Navy Lt. Jerry Mojzis, right, and Lt. David Berlin go over design plans with a local doctor during a mission to Pur Chaman district, Farah province, Afghanistan, Sept. 26, 2012. The mission marks the first time coalition forces have been to the Pur Chaman district in more than a year. U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt Jonathan Lovelady

BASE TOUR

Deputy Defense Secretary Ashton B. Carter visits the Air Force's 162nd Fighter Wing at the Air National Guard Base on at Tucson International Airport, Tucson, Ariz., Sept. 26, 2012. DOD photo by Glenn Fawcett

AIRMAN'S GREETING

Deputy Defense Secretary Ashton B. Carter, left foreground, shakes hands with multinational F-16 Fighting Falcon aircraft training students while visiting the Air Force's 162nd Fighter Wing at the Air National Guard Base on Tucson International Airport, Tucson, Ariz., Sept. 26, 2012. DOD photo by Glenn Fawcett

JET GENERATIONS

An F-35A Lightning II joint strike fighter from the 33rd Fighter Wing at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., and an F-22A Raptor from the 325th Fighter Wing at Tyndall Air Force Base, Fla., soar over the Emerald Coast Sept. 19, 2012. The flight marked the first time the two fifth-generation fighters have flown together for the Air Force. U.S. Air Force photo by Master Sgt. Jeremy T. Lock

EMERGENCY PLANNING

Soldiers assigned to the U.S. Army Pacific Contingency Command Post conduct a humanitarian assistance and disaster relief coordination meeting during a readiness exercise on the Taliai Military Camp,Tonga, Sept. 25, 2012. The exercise is part of Coral Reef - a multinational emergency deployment and readiness exercise with partners in Australia, New Zealand and Tonga. U.S. Army photo by Maj. Edward Hooks

MUSTIN FIRE

The guided-missile destroyer USS Mustin fires a Standard Missile 2 missile from the ship's forward and aft missile decks during a missile exercise in the Pacific Ocean, Sept. 20, 2012. The Mustin is one of seven guided missile destroyers assigned to Destroyer Squadron 15 and is forward deployed to Yokosuka, Japan. U.S. Navy photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Devon Dow

TUSCON TOUR

William H. Swanson, left, chairman and CEO of Raytheon Co., and Taylor Lawrence, right, Raytheon vice president, give Deputy Defense Secretary Ashton B. Carter, center foreground, a tour of the company’s facilities by in Tucson, Ariz., Sept. 26, 2012. DOD photo by Glenn Fawcett