"I'll love you forever."

The SLDN (Servicemembers Legal Defense Network) held a memorial service in honor of Veterans Day at the gravesite of Tech Sgt. Leonard Matlovich, "one of the first to challenge the military’s exclusion of GLBT people from the armed forces," at the Congressional Cemetery in Washington, D.C., on Sunday, Nov. 8, 2009.

Jaak Aaviksoo, Estonian Minister of Defense, at the Estonian Embassy in Washington, D.C. on Monday, November 2, 2009. Estonia has soldiers in Afghanistan, but this time they are on the Afghan's side. Much different than 30 years ago.

John M. McHugh, 21st Secretary of the Army, speaks during his Arrival Ceremony at Conmy Hall, Ft. Myer, VA, on Monday, November 2, 2009.

An international group of military attendees at the opening ceremony of the AUSA annual meeting and exposition in Washington, D.C., on Monday, October 5, 2009.

On the Al Basrah Oil Terminal, the Iraqis live in what the Americans call "The White House."

CE2 Carl Harms helps pull in a load of food from a supply ship at the Al Basrah Oil Terminal off the coast of Iraq on Wednesday, August 12, 2009.

Capt. William Goodman, Navy Nurse Corps, fills out a 16-page survey after checking in his gear at the Warrior Transition Center at Camp Arifjan, Kuwait, on Tuesday, August 11, 2009. Capt. Goodman spent four months in Kuwait and two-and-a-half months in Khandahar during his IA (Individual Augmentee) tour.

Flight deck crew does a FOD walk in 120+ degree heat (and high humidity) on board the USS Reagan (CVN 76), underway in the Arabian Gulf. I will do my best to never complain about the heat again after watching these kids drag chains, move aircraft, do maintenance and refuel planes with tutrtlenecks, long sleeves and float coats on, the sun beating down and the heat of jet engines to top it all off.