

A German soldier patrols as an Afghan boy dumps water on the street outside the police station in Chahar Dara, southwest of Kunduz, Afghanistan on Aug. 26. Ruben Sprich/Reuters
A German soldier checks a Tornado fighter jet before a reconnaissance flight from the German camp in Mazar-e-Sharif on Aug. 28. Ruben Sprich/Reuters
U.S. soldiers from 2nd Platoon, Alpha Company, 32nd Infantry Regiment sit in a Chinook CH- 47F transport helicopter on their way to a new location in Bargematal, Nuristan province, early on Aug. 22. Oleg Popov/Reuters
A French soldier wears a visor and face cover to protect himself from dust as he patrols in Deh Rawod, in the southern Afghan province of Uruzgan on Aug. 17. Security was increased across Afghanistan in August as the country prepared for the Presidential elections on Aug. 20. Pascal Guyot/AFP/Newscom
A soldier from C Co. 2-12 Infantry Regiment 4th Brigade 4th Infantry Division is seen at COP Honiker-Miracle in Afghanistan's Pesh River Valley this summer. Lucian Read/Rapport/Newscom
A U.S. soldier from 3-71 Cavalry shaves with a cracked mirror at his bunker in the village of Bargematal, Nuristan province, on Aug. 23. Oleg Popov/Reuters
U.S. soldiers from 1-32 Infantry unit fire 81mm mortars during a sporadic shoot-out with Taliban fighters in the village of Bargematal, Nuristan province, on Aug. 25. Oleg Popov/Reuters
German soldiers change the wheel of an armored personnel carrier at the German camp in Mazar e Sharif on Aug. 20. Ruben Sprich/Reuters
U.S. soldiers of 2-12 Infantry 4BCT-4ID Task Force Mountain Warrior walk on the top of a mountain during an operation near Michigan camp, at the Pesh Valley in Kunar Province, on Aug. 18. Carlos Barria/Reuters
In this Aug. 19 photo, two wounded U.S. soldiers of the U.S. Army's Apache Company 2nd Battalion 87th Infantry Regiment grab each other's hands after 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. David Goldman/AP
German soldiers play beach volleyball in the German camp in Kunduz, on Aug. 22. Ruben Sprich/Reuters
US soldiers patrol early in Korengal valley in Afghanistan's Kunar province on Aug. 13. Matthew Moeller/AFP/HO/US COALTION FORCE/Newscom
British soldiers at the ISAF headquarters, in Kabul, help keep the area secure at the entrance to the HQ after a suicide bomb attack on Aug. 16. The entrance is inside a secure and protected zone of the Afghan capital. The Times/Newscom
Sgt. Joshua Engbrecht (l.) gets a haircut at Combat Outpost Tangi in Afghanistan's Wardak province on Aug. 18. David Goldman/AP
On Aug. 27, US Marine Corps Gen. Lawrence Nicholson (l.) and 2nd MEB Sgt. Major Hooph pay their respects to Lance Cpl. Joshua Bernard during a memorial service at a forward operating base in Now Zad, Afghanistan, in the Helmand province. Bernard had been killed during a Taliban ambush on Aug. 14. Julie Jacobsen/AP
Staff Sgt. Jonathan Pena eats Lucky Charms while manning his weapon during a helicopter flight in Afghanistan on Sept. 7. Alex Brandon/AP
German ISAF soldiers, members of the Quick Reaction Force (QRF) embrace each other after coming back from a mission outside Kunduz, Afghanistan, on Sept. 10. Anja Niedringhaus/AP
Liam, the son of Lance Cpl. Richard Brandon of the Corps of Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (REME) who was killed in Afghanistan, salutes his father during the funeral in Wootten Bassett, England, on Sept. 10. Brandon was killed in the Helmand province of Afghanistan, on Sept. 2. Lewis Whyld/AP
US service members ran during a 9.11 kilometer race at the main base in Bagram, north of Kabul, Afghanistan, to mark the eighth anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. Musadeq Sadeq/AP
A soldier holds a photo of Italian army Sgt. Major Roberto Valente outside the family's home in Naples, Italy, on Sept. 17. Valente was killed in a suicide car bomb explosion in Kabul, Afghanistan, that left 16, including 5 other Italian soldiers, dead. Ciro de Luca/Agnfoto/Reuters
A specials forces soldier on his hands and knees helps position the feet of an Afghan National Police officer during assault-rifle training in Nili, Afghanistan, on Sept. 18. The team is among only a few US troops to live among Afghans, but the hope is to push Special Forces teams into villages throughout the country, helping them train Afghan police and soldiers rather than hunting down insurgents. Alex Brandon/AP
US Army Lt. Rich Chersicla looks through a hole in a barrier after a rocket attack on a combat outpost in the Jalrez Valley of Afghanistan's Wardak province on Sept. 24. No one was injured in the attack. Maya Alleruzzo/AP
The crew of a US Black Hawk helicopter prepares to land near the village of Salavat, Afghanistan, on Sept. 24. Finbarr O'Reilly/Reuters
A soldier from the US Army based at Fort Richardson, Alaska, plays with a dog before heading out to patrol in the Zerok District in Afghanistan, on Sept. 24. Dima Gavrysh/AP
Afghan National Army soldiers watch television in a tent in the Kandahar province of Afghanistan on Sept. 25. Finbarr O'Reilly/Reuters
US Army dog handler Sgt. Adrian Garcia carries Staff Sgt. Kirby over a concertina wire fence during a patrol in the Jalrez Valley of Afghanistan's Wardak province. Maya Alleruzzo/AP
US Staff Sgt. Jason Thompson goes through drills with new recruits for the Afghan National Army at the Kabul Military Training Center on Sept. 29 in Afghanistan. Recruits go through exercises as part of US efforts to strengthen the Afghan army. Once a Soviet military base, the facility is now at the heart of Gen. Stanley McChrystal's plans to create a strong enough Afghan fighting for that they are capable of defending the nation from the Taliban on their own. Ahmad Masood/Reuters
Soldiers from the US Army's Alpha Battery fire their 155 mm Howitzer in Cop Cherokee base in the Logar province of Afghanistan on Oct. 4. On Saturday, Taliban militants attacked two remote American and Afghan military outposts, killing eight US soldiers and two Afghan soldiers. Nikola Solic/Reuters
US soldiers disembark from a Black Hawk helicopter after landing at Cop Cherokee base in the Logar province, Afghanistan, on Oct. 4. Nikola Solic/Reuters