Army

U.S. Army Spc. Chris Avila (right) and other soldiers engage Taliban forces during a halt to repair a disabled vehicle near the village of Allah Say, Afghanistan, on Aug. 20, 2007. Avila is assigned to Foxtrot Company, 2nd Battalion, 82nd Aviation Brigade. DoD photo by Staff Sgt. Michael L. Casteel, U.S. Army.

U.S. Army Sgt. Christopher Fabian talks with local citizens about insurgent activity in Baghdad, Iraq, on Aug. 25, 2007. Fabian is assigned to the 308th Psychological Operations Company, 10th Psychological Operations Battalion. DoD photo by Spc. John W. Crosby, U.S. Army. (Released)

U.S. Army 1st Lt. Brandon Whitis speaks with a local man about conditions in the Diyala River Valley region of Iraq on Aug. 16, 2007. Whitis and his fellow soldiers from Bravo Company, 1st Battalion, 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division are patrolling in the region looking for insurgents and weapons caches. DoD photo by Sgt. 1st Class Robert C. Brogan, U.S. Army. (Released)

U.S. Army 1st Lt. Brandon Whitis beams with delight after being given a meal on flat bread by an Iraqi man and woman in the Diyala River Valley region of Iraq on Aug. 14, 2007. Whitis and his fellow soldiers from Bravo Company, 1st Battalion, 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division, are patrolling in the region. DoD photo by Sgt. 1st Class Robert C. Brogan, U.S. Army. (Released)

U.S. Army paratroopers from Red Platoon, Charlie Troop, 1st Squadron, 91st Cavalry Regiment (Airborne) navigate to Observation Post Chuck Norris in Dangam, Afghanistan on July 25, 2007, in Dangam, Afghanistan. DoD photo by Sgt. Brandon Aird, U.S. Army. (Released)

U.S. Air Force Senior Airman Andrzej Wojcicki talks to an Afghan child at an internal displaced persons camp outside of Kabul, Afghanistan, on July 27, 2007. Wojcicki, and other members of the Combined Security Transition Command-Afghanistan, gather every two weeks to deliver clothing, toys, school supplies and toiletries sent from the United States to the needy in the Kabul area. DoD photo by Master Sgt. Jim Varhegyi, U.S. Air Force. (Released)