By the end of the year US forces will replace British troops in a deadly district in Southern Afghanistan. Also today, we look at unemployment rates for returning soldiers.

US To Replace British in Deadly District

LONDON — British troops will withdraw from a volatile district in southern Afghanistan where they have sustained nearly 100 deaths, turning over responsibility to U.S. forces by the end of the year, an official said.

NATO Airstrike Kills 5 Afghan Troops

KABUL, Afghanistan — NATO mistakenly killed five of its Afghan army allies in an airstrike Wednesday while the Afghans were attacking insurgents in the country’s east, officials said.

After war, young soldiers come home to fight unemployment

(CNN) — After Brooks Douan finished serving in Iraq for the Marine Reserves, he returned home in October 2008 to battle something many civilians had already been fighting: unemployment.

New Marine Corps Operating Concept Says Naval Infantry Must Shed Weight
I’m working my way through the new Marine Corps Operating Concepts document and wanted to highlight some of the weapons and equipment implications. To get back to its naval infantry roots, the service must shed some of the weight its gained fighting as a second land army in Iraq and Afghanistan, it says.

Troop killed in Afghanistan, adding to spate of deaths

Kabul, Afghanistan (CNN) — A member of the NATO-led force in Afghanistan was killed Tuesday, a day after six other members were killed in separate incidents, the military said.

Pakistan military: Wanted Pakistan Taliban commander killed

(CNN) — The Pakistani army killed one of the most wanted Taliban commanders on Sunday in the country’s tribal region, the military said Tuesday.

McCain: Kandahar Key to Victory in Afghan War

KABUL, Afghanistan — The ranking Republican on the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee said NATO and Afghan troops will prevail in the war if they can succeed in securing and bolstering governance in the Taliban stronghold of Kandahar.

Military Families: Kids need more help, sensitivity

FORT BELVOIR, Va. — Military parents want easier school transitions for their children, more training for teachers to make sure they’re sensitive to the needs of military children, and more Defense Department schools. That’s what they told Jill Biden and defense and education officials at a roundtable here Tuesday.

Costa Rica to Allow US To Send Troops

Costa Rica has granted the U.S. military a six-month window to bring 7,000 Marines, five planes and 46 warships into its territory to help stem the flow of drugs northward.

‘Direct peace talks’ the goal, Netanyahu says of meeting with Obama

Washington (CNN) — Middle East peace talks will be the focus when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meets with President Obama on Tuesday, officials from both countries said.

Blackwater Case: ‘I Just Want the Truth’

More than six years after four Blackwater contractors were ambushed, killed and their bodies strung up from a bridge in Fallujah, Iraq, a lawsuit over the grisly incident is at a critical point.