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A mother and daughter wait patiently for their names to be called during a humanitarian-aid mission supported by U.S. Soldiers assigned to Golf Battery, 82nd Field Artillery Regiment, 3rd Battalion, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, in Adalla, Iraq, Aug. 9. Photo by Spc. Canaan Radcliffe, Joint Combat Camera Center Iraq

U.S. Navy Lt. Angela Viers-Costello, a general medical officer assigned to the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, consults with fellow general medical officer Bangladesh army Capt. Mohammad Enamul and Bangladesh Army nurse, Lt. Rexy D. Cruze, about a Bangladeshi man's diagnosis during a Bangladesh Interoperability Program 09 medical civil action project. Photo by Cpl. Heather Golden, Navy Visual News Service

An Afghan elder shows his purple inked finger to indicate that he voted during Afghanistan's elections, Aug. 20, in Barge Matal, Afghanistan. Afghanistan village elders are considered to be the role models and leaders among the Afghan population. Photo by Staff Sgt. Christopher Allison, 55th Combat Camera.

Staff Sgt. James Foster, assigned to Bravo Battery, Battalion Landing Team 1/1, 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit, dodges a kick from Gunnery Sgt. Tom Johnson, the platoon sergeant of Light Armored Reconnaissance Platoon, Battalion Landing Team 1/1, 13th MEU, during Marine Corps martial arts program training aboard the amphibious assault ship USS Boxer. Boxer and the 13th MEU/Boxer Amphibious Ready Group are underway in the Pacific Ocean returning from a 7-month deployment.

Overseas Contingency Operation Photos

I MEF Commanding General's Suicide Awareness Video... Click here to view.

Area Code 760 & 442 Phone Overlay Approved. Click here to learn the new procedures that began May 2, 2009.

I MEF News Story's . . . From Every Clime and Place

Cpl. Richard Rupe questions two local Afghan men at a vehicle checkpoint in Nawa District, Helmand province, Afghanistan, Aug. 10, 2009. Rupe is a 24-year-old motor transport operator from Las Vegas deployed with 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment. U.S. Marines are conducting security patrols in the area to speak with the local populace to identify their issues and concerns.

Guard Force Marines Make Security Priority at Geronimo

Story and Photo by Lance Cpl. John McCall, Regimental Combat Team 3

FORWARD OPERATING BASE GERONIMO, Afghanistan – (August 25, 2009) While the Marines at Forward Operating Base Geronimo sleep soundly at night, the guard force stays vigilant and watchful.

Guard Marines are responsible for the security of Geronimo first and foremost. Second to that, they conduct mounted and dismounted security patrols up to five kilometers out from here, explained Gunnery Sgt. Michael Rivera, the Headquarters and Service Company gunnery sergeant. Read More

Marines with 3d Marine Special Operations Battalion, U.S. Marine Corps Forces, Special Operations Command conduct a direct action hit during training, July 17, at the Mountain Warfare Training Center, here. The training was part of a three-week exercise where the operators sharpened their skills in an environment containing elevations up to 7,500 feet above sea level.

MARSOC Marines Take to the Hills

Story and Photo by Sgt. Steven King, Marines Special Operations Command PAO

MOUNTAIN WARFARE TRAINING CENTER, Cailf. – (August 25, 2009) In 218 B.C., during the second Punic War between Rome and Carthage, the great Carthaginian, General Hannibal, did what many Romans thought to be impossible – he invaded northern Italy by marching his army over the Pyrenees and the Alps mountain ranges. Not only did he have to fight his way through various tribes using clever mountain tactics, he also had to combat the harsh mountainous elements, the elevation, logistical problems, and the terrain. After engaging in three strenuous weeks of training at the Mountain Warfare Training Center in Bridgeport, Calif. during Exercise White Mountain the operators of 3d Marine Special Operations Battalion, U.S. Marine Corps Forces, Special Operations Command may have a new appreciation for the challenges that Hannibal faced in the mountains.

"One thing is for sure, it wasn't a stroll though the park," said Cpl. Victor Escobar, watch officer, about the mountainous terrain. "It took us a few days to completely get used to the thinner air. Sports athletes who train in high altitude environments don't have to do so with thirty pounds of gear on, but combat athletes like us do." Read More

A notional rocket-propelled grenade round strikes a humvee while Marines and sailors of CLB-1 participate in the second stage of the DUMOC at Range 215 Aug. 14.

CLB-1 Participates in Unit's First EMV Range

Story by Pfc. Michael Gams and Photo by Cpl. Nicole Lavine, MCAGCC, Twentynine Palms

Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center, Twentynine Palms – (August 24, 2009) Marines and Sailors scheduled to deploy later this year participated in their first range training at Combat Center Range 215, Aug. 14, to learn how to effectively operate in a hostile environment during daylight and darkness.

The exercise, a three-stage evolution called Day and Night Urban Mobility Operational Course, or DUMOC and NUMOC, was the first range of Enhanced Mojave Viper, a 30-day pre-deployment package required for Marines and sailors deploying to Iraq and Afghanistan, for Combat Logistics Battalion 1 from Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, Calif. Read More