CAMP LEATHERNECK, Afghanistan...125 guards from Bahrain are helping secure the headquarters for U.S. military operations in volatile Helmand province, where more than 10,000 Marines are stationed and more are on the way.

-In addition to the Navy ships, Petraeus said the U.S. military now had eight Patriot missile batteries in the region. “[There are] two in each of four countries, U.S. Patriot batteries that weren’t there two years ago,” he said.

The Boeing-led Airborne Laser engaged a target missile in flight Jan. 10, although the test wasn't intended to destroy the missile, the U.S. Missile Defense Agency reported, while also posting a video of the test here.

BAGHDAD - Iraq, in an effort to quell separatist tendencies, has sought to integrate Kurds into the nation's security forces.

2010 is proceeding in a manner more befitting the third month of the year, named after the Roman god of war, than the first whose name is derived from a pacific deity. On January 13 the Associated Press reported that the White House will submit its Quadrennial Defense Review to Congress on February 1 and request a record-high $708 billion for the Pentagon.