Royal Marines – The 24 man strong Royal Marine Brigade Patrol Troop specializes in winter recce work.

• Daily Telegraph: British unit prepares to defy extremes of the Afghan winter

US Navy – Aboard the USS Carl Vinson with one of the few female F-14 Tomcat pilots.

• Daily Telegraph: ‘I was smiling: I had dropped my bombs. They hit’

US Navy – Aboard the USS Theodore Roosevelt.

• Associated Press: U.S. pilots focusing more on Taliban troops, tanks and providing air cover

Background – Middle East – Is the US winning the battle but loosing the war? The view from inside the Beltway.

• Washington Post: At Pentagon: Worries Over War’s Costs, Consequences

Background – CIA – What is wrong with the CIA and why it missed predicting the events of September 11.

• New Yorker: What went wrong