The military currently has as many as 3, 500 robots in Afghanistan, from small contraptions that a soldier can pitch through a window to bulldozer-size machines that can plow over mine-seeded roads.

WSJ: In the Afghan War, a Little Robot Can Be a Soldier's Best Friend

And the rising talent Condola Rashad, as a soldier's wife, turns a small role into a star turn.

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Instead of vast maneuver grounds and lots of instructors and equipment, soldiers can train with small but high-tech gear such as Dismounted Soldier Training System, or they can practice techniques, such as squad tactics or IED recognition, using a training game on a laptop or even smartphones.

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The American soldier accused of carrying out the shooting was based at a small compound in Kandahar province.

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Imagine for a moment not just what these small gestures mean to a family, but what they mean to a soldier thousands of miles of away who knows that someone is looking out for the ones he loves back home.

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In London, the Ministry of Defense said the soldier, who was attached to the 21 Engineer Regiment, was killed by small arms fire at Patrol Base Hazrat.

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Another soldier attached to the 101st is being questioned in connection with the fatal grenade and small arms attack at one of the division's camps in northern Kuwait, Army V Corps spokesman Max Blumenfeld said early Sunday in Kuwait.

CNN: Soldier detained in fatal attack on Army camp

You're the nurse on the second shift, the worker on the line, the waitress on her feet, the small business owner, the farmer, the teacher, the miner, the trucker, the soldier, the veteran, the student, the hard-working men and women who don't always make the headlines, but have always written America's story.

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Instead of dispatching a young soldier to probe for a mine or search a cave, a commander these days often sends in a small robot.

WSJ: In the Afghan War, a Little Robot Can Be a Soldier's Best Friend