Secretary of Defense Ash Carter

In the battle to retake Mosul from ISIS, the Qayyarah Airfield West is a key staging base run by Iraqi and U.S. forces. Ash Carter visited there Dec. 11 and awarded medals to eight Iraqi soldiers.

Defense Secretary Ash Carter said the U.S. was surprised by the attempted coup in Turkey, but he does not expect it to affect the campaign against the Islamic State.

"Transgender Americans may serve openly, and they can no longer be discharged or otherwise separated from the military just for being transgender," Secretary of Defense Ash Carter told reporters.