Panetta's Tenure as Secretary of Defense

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta oversaw changes in policy on women in combat and gays in the military. He traveled to Europe, Asia and the battlefield of Afghanistan, among other places. See some highlights of his tenure here.

Capitol Hill

Leon Panetta's final appearance on Capitol Hill as Defense secretary was to testify before the Senate Armed Services Committee about the Sept. 11, 2012, attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya, and on the crisis in Syria. He testified with Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Martin Dempsey (on right) on Feb. 7, 2013. Photo: Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images

Women in Combat

In this photo provided by the U.S. Navy, Lt. j.g. Luke Leveque pins the submarine officer warfare device on his wife, Lt. j.g. Marquette Leveque, at the Naval submarine base in Kings Bay, Ga., on Dec. 5, 2012. In January 2013, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta lifted the ban on woman serving in combat, reversing a 1994 policy. Photo: U.S. Navy via Getty Images

Don't Ask, Don't Tell

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta also oversaw the changes brought by the reversal of the "don't ask, don't tell" policy, which had banned gays from openly serving in the military. Photo: Alex Wong/Getty Images

Israeli Relations

During his tenure as defense secretary, Leon Panetta worked to maintain relations with U.S. ally Israel. Here, he receives a model of the Iron Dome missile as a gift from Israel's Minister of Defense Ehud Barak on Nov. 29, 2012. Photo: Paul J. Richards/AFP/Getty Images

Insider Attacks

Leon Panetta, who became defense secretary in 2011, also saw during his tenure an uptick in deadly attacks by Afghan trainees against U.S. forces in Afghanistan. "We will not lose sight of the fundamental mission here, which is to continue to proceed to assure a peaceful transition," Panetta said at the time. Photo: Munir Uz Zaman/AFP/Getty Images

Troop Visit

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta visited troops in Afghanistan. Despite the scattered attacks, the Obama administration said it was moving forward with its plan to withdraw most U.S. troops from Afghanistan in 2014, but keep some to advise and assist the Afghans. Photo: Susan Walsh-Pool/Getty Images

Diary Returned

Three women await a ceremony to hand over personal documents including a frayed diary of Vu Dinh Doan, a Northern Vietnamese soldier killed during the Vietnam War, to his family in the northern province of Hai Duong on Sept. 21, 2012. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta had returned the diary to Hanoi earlier in the year, 46 years after the soldier was killed in action in Southern Vietnam. Photo: Hoang Dinh Nam/AFP/Getty Images

Pivot Toward Asia

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta reviews the troops with China's Defense Minister Liang Guanglie at the Bayi Building in Beijing on Sept. 18, 2012. Panetta was part of the administration's "pivot toward Asia" and its rising powers -- and challenges -- in the region. Photo: Larry Downing-Pool/Getty Images

Bin Laden Capture

Prior to becoming Defense secretary, Leon Panetta was CIA director when al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden was killed by U.S. forces. On the NewsHour, he described the final tense seconds of the commando raid. In this photo, President Obama, Vice President Biden, and members of the national security team receive an update on the mission against Osama bin Laden in the Situation Room of the White House on May 1, 2011. Photo: Pete Souza/White House

Sept. 11 Memorial

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and President Obama attend a memorial service at the Pentagon on Sept. 11, 2012, remembering the victims of the terrorist attacks on the United States. Panetta's final day as Defense secretary was Feb. 8, 2013. Photo: Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images