On Patrol

A KC-10 Extender refuels another KC-10 on May 3, 2012, during a training mission over the Atlantic Ocean. Army photo by Technical Sergeant Edward Gyokeres

Navy Petty Officer Second Class Ronald Valdez, left, extends a helping hand to Marine Lance Corporal Patrick Mireles as he jumps a stream April 30, 2012, during a security patrol in Durzay, Afghanistan. Marine Corps photo by Corporal Reece Lodder

President Barack Obama interacts with troops on Bagram Air Base, Afghanistan, on May 2, 2012. Obama made a surprise visit to the air base, where he announced a strategic partnership agreement with Afghan President Hamid Karzai detailing the relationship between the United States and Afghanistan. Army photo by Sergeant Roland Hale

• There’s beefed up security on the streets of New York City today (it’s being referred to in some news reports as a “surge”), the anniversary of the raid by an American special operations team that killed al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden
  
  
• President Barack Obama traveled to Afghanistan Monday to sign paperwork laying out the relationship between the United States and Afghanistan going forward. He also meet some troops (see our photo of the day) and gave a televised address back to the U.S. from Bagram Air Base in the eastern part of the country.
  
  
• And tonight, Obama will detail his experience during the lead-up to and execution of the raid on Bin Laden with NBC’s Brian Williams on “Rock Center.”
  
  
• In Pakistan, nearly 1,500 Taliban sympathizers gathered to protest bin Laden’s killing, according to The Associated Press.

First lady Michelle Obama stands with Royal Marine Captain Simon Maxwell and Melissa Stockwell - the first female amputee from the war in Iraq - during the 2012 Warrior Games Opening Ceremony at The Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado, on April 30, 2012. USO photo by Joseph Andrew Lee

1. Share: To mark Memorial Day, Stars and Stripes has started a new feature called “The Things You Keep,” where readers can submit stories about the physical objects they use to remind themselves of a fallen service member. Interested? You can share your story with Stripes here.

2. Run: Priority registration for the Army Ten-Miler starts Tuesday at 12:01 a.m. EST. You have to be a current service member or have run seven or more Army Ten-Milers to register during the priority time period. The general public that doesn’t qualify for priority registration can start signing up May 15 at 12:01 a.m.

3. Learn: Service members aren’t the only ones directly affected by day-to-day Defense Department moves. SpouseBuzz.com does a great job chronicling how the less-publicized side of military families live.

President Barack Obama signs an executive order April 27, 2012, as First Lady Michelle Obama watches on Fort Stewart, Georgia. The order will help ensure America’s service members, veterans, spouses and other family members are protected from aggressive and deceptive targeting by educational institutions. White House photo by Lawrence Jackson

Americans hear yo-yoing statistics about the national unemployment rate every week. But for young veterans, the outlook has been stuck on bleak for a while.

The Detroit Free Press—quoting the Bureau of Labor Statistics—says the unemployment rate for American military veterans age 24 and under is a staggering is 29.1 percent. The news doesn’t get much better for older vets, as the overall unemployment figure for those who’ve served in Iraq or Afghanistan sits at 10.3 percent, significantly higher than the overall national rate of 8.2 percent.

The national rate for all veterans regardless of age is actually 7.5 percent, suggesting that once those who’ve served enter the workplace, they’re actually better than the national average at holding on to a job.

“They just don't get it,” Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America Policy Director Tom Tarantino told the Free Press when discussing employers. “It’s hard to make that cultural connection.”

Read more in Despite skills, veterans of Afghanistan, Iraq not getting hired.

The Japanese-American conflict over what to do with U.S. troops in Okinawa reached a firm compromise of sorts on Friday, when the countries unveiled a plan to move 9,000 U.S. Marines off the Japanese island and onto other installations in the Pacific.

The move will send many Marines to newly built American military facilities on Guam. There will also be an increased troop presence in Hawaii, along with a continuing rotation of forces through Australia.

According to Stars and Stripes, the new plan was worked out over the last two months. The two countries agreed to relocate Marines on Okinawa in 2006, but that plan stalled because of Japanese politics and American budget concerns.

Read more in New US-Japan pact will move 9,000 Marines off Okinawa.

In other news around the military:

• In a reverse trend/meme/whatever the kids are calling it these days, 17-year-old LPGA golfer Lexi Thompson has invited America’s 18- to 20-year-old service members to send her a Facebook message about why they should be her prom date. Thompson will fill in the details for the winning candidate and provide their transportation to Florida. Watch her video at the bottom of USA Today’s story.

• The Army plans to reactivate the 7th Infantry Division and stand up its headquarters on Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington, according to Secretary of the Army John McHugh. The Northwest Guardian reported the headquarters will oversee training and readiness for five of the installation’s 10 brigades.

Marine Staff Sergeant Derick Clark comforts Yeager - an improvised explosive device detection dog - on April 22, 2012, as they wait for the beginning of a memorial service in honor of Yeager's handler Lance Corporal Abraham Tarwoe on Combat Outpost Duluth, Afghanistan. Tarwoe, who was assigned to Weapons Company, 2nd Battalion, 9th Marines, was killed in action during a dismounted patrol. Marine Corps photo by Corporal Alfred V. Lopez

A soldier participates in a dance-off competition after the Pat Tillman Run on April 21, 2012, on Forward Operating Base Salerno in Afghanistan's Khost province. More than 200 runners participated in the run, which raises awareness of the Pat Tillman Foundation and pays tribute to the fallen comrade. DoD photo

Army Captain Brooke Henderson, left, performs an eye exam on Wilson, a Maltese mix puppy, while Sergeant Andrew King holds him during the April 18, 2012, procedure in Nome, Alaska. DoD photo.

Insurer USAA says troops have a tough time adjusting to stateside highways after a deployment, according to the New York Times.

USAA says troops cause 13 percent more accidents than usual in the six months following a deployment, the Times reported on Tuesday. When you look at just soldiers, the spike goes up to 23 percent.

It gets worse for troops who’ve gone on multiple deployments, the Times said.

At-fault accidents rose 36 percent for drivers who had deployed three or more times, for instance, compared with 27 percent for drivers with two deployments and 12 percent for those with one deployment.

In other news around the military:

• The Los Angeles Times reports the Defense Intelligence Agency is shifting its focus to global threats, a departure from the Iraq- and Afghanistan-based approach it’s taken over the last decade.

• Twelve members of the U.S. military have now been tied to the Secret Service prostitution incident in Colombia, according to NPR.

It’s been a while, but North Korea is showing it can still talk the talk. Whether it will ever try to walk the walk, is far less certain.

The secretive communist nation promised to reduce South Korea’s government “to ashes” in a statement carried by its state media arm Monday, according to USA Today. This comes on the heels of the North’s unsuccessful missile launch a few weeks ago.

While the North has always been happy to talk about its capabilities, it hasn’t shown it can do much on the large-scale threat level. That perception was reinforced with its recent failed missile test. However, the country has long sought nuclear capabilities, and there is concern that it could attempt to test a nuclear device again, as it has after past missile launches.

The North was blamed for sinking the Cheonan—a South Korean destroyer—in 2010, killing 46 South Korean sailors.

Read more in “North Korean military warns of ‘special actions’ soon.”

Fifteen-month-old Braxton Harvey holds on to his father, Army Specialist Nicholas Harvey, during the USO spring tour on Ramstein Air Base, Germany, on April 19, 2012. Air Force photo by Master Sergeant Chuck Marsh