Thunderous applause filled the John F. Kennedy Auditorium here as seven Soldiers, decorated with the nation's third highest honor, took the stage at the conclusion of a 7th Special Forces Group (Airborne) valor award ceremony Aug. 16.

It is August 2010, which is the month when the last U.S. combat troops are scheduled to leave Iraq. It is therefore time to take stock of the situation in Iraq, which has changed places with Afghanistan as the forgotten war. This is all the more important since 50,000 troops will remain in Iraq, and while they may not be considered combat troops, a great deal of combat power remains embedded with them. So we are far from the end of the war in Iraq. The question is whether the departure of the last combat units is a significant milestone and, if it is, what it signifies.

The hide is a sniper’s safe haven. It’s a hole they dig, cover with camouflage and live in for days or weeks at a time. But what happens when a sniper and his team find a bomb in their hide?

For Sgt. Michael G. Dowling, it was a no-brainer.

An Afghan and coalition security force detained several suspected Taliban insurgents in Paktika province Sunday including a Taliban commander and a facilitator.

When we discuss threats along the U.S./Mexico border with sources and customers, or when we write an analysis on topics such as violence and improvised explosive devices along the border, a certain topic inevitably pops up: Hezbollah.

Radical Islamic cleric Abu Bakar Bashir was arrested August 9 after a months-long investigation into a terrorist group calling itself al-Qaida in Aceh. Analysts say his arrest was more significant than just the disruption of a terrorist plot. It demonstrated, they say, a new emphasis by Indonesian authorities on preventing radicalization and terrorist recruitment in Southeast Asia.

Soldiers from Company A, 3rd Battalion, 187th Infantry Regiment conducted a joint air-assault operation with members of the Afghan National Civil Order Police and Afghan National Army soldiers in support of Operation Shamshir in eastern Ghazni province Aug. 6-9.

A powerful car bomb has exploded in the Colombian capital, Bogota, injuring at least six people and damaging nearby buildings and vehicles.

Afghan National Army commandos from the 3rd Kandak, assisted by U.S. special forces, came under attack in Kandahar province Wednesday while conducting a security patrol to degrade and disrupt insurgents.

The Afghan-led force went to a series of compounds in Howzi Madad located in the Zheray District of Kandahar after intelligence confirmed militant activity.