National Security

Brig. Gen. Viet Luong of the 1st Cavalry Division came to the United States in the 1970s after his family fled Vietnam in the waning days of the war there. He's now leading the effort to train Afghan soldiers to fight the Taliban. David Gilkey/NPR hide caption

The entrance to Camp 5 and Camp 6 at the U.S. military's Guantanamo Bay detention center at Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, Cuba, in a photograph taken in 2014. Ben Fox/AP hide caption

Rida Sihab Mansour, a staff sergeant in the National Guard, stands with the uniform he wears when he serves on the honor guard at military funerals. He says he's positive that his guard commitments are making it more difficult to build a career. Katie Schoolov/KPBS hide caption

A view inside the Washington National Guard Army Aviation Support Facility on Joint Base Lewis-McChord in February. As Congress cuts $500 billion from the Defense Department budget, the National Guard and active Army are competing for the same dollars. Patricia Murphy/KUOW hide caption

Indiana Army National Guard Pvt. Trea Colon inspects her equipment during a field training exercise at Camp Atterbury and Muscatatuck. Sgt. Jeremiah Runser/U.S. Army via DVIDS hide caption

The Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building was "literally right up against the road so it was extremely vulnerable," said architect Barbara Nadel. One of the government's first responses was to close a two-block stretch of Pennsylvania Avenue in front of the White House. AFP/AFP/Getty Images hide caption

"Security is survival. And until that need is met, other things are less important." - Computer security expert Bruce Schneier Dave Cole/TED hide caption

High-definition video cameras with 30x magnification keep watch over the Boston Marathon finish line, where two bombs detonated in 2013, killing three people and injuring hundreds. Jesse Costa/WBUR hide caption