Pentagon leaders officially end the US military mission in Iraq. Nearly 4,500 US military personnel were killed in Operation Iraqi Freedom (March 19, 2003 – Aug. 31, 2010) and the follow-on Operation New Dawn (Aug. 31, 2010 – Dec. 15, 2011) and more than 32,000 were wounded. (The last US troops left Iraq Dec. 18, 2011.)
Navy Adm. Samuel J. Paparo Jr. assumed leadership of the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, succeeding Navy Adm. John Aquilino at a change of command ceremony, urging action amid China's “increasing intrusive and expansionist claims,” on May 3