Archive for the ‘From the Trenches’ Category

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  Marines complete first unmanned landing support in Helmand province

  From the Trenches  //  June 6th, 2012  //  By Cpl. Lisa Tourtelot

  HELMAND PROVINCE, Afghanistan – Marine Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Squadron 2, the “Night Owls,” made history in May when they completed the first “hot hookups” between landing support Marines on the ground and a hovering Kaman  [Read more...]

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  Future of Garmsir in Afghan Hands

  From the Trenches, Highlights  //  May 15th, 2012  //  By Cpl. Reece Lodder

  America’s Battalion Completes Final Helmand Tour GARMSIR DISTRICT, Afghanistan — In the fall of 2004, the Marines and sailors of 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment began a challenging  journey that took them to the Middle  [Read more...]

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  Operation Tageer Shamal

  From the Trenches, Highlights  //  May 14th, 2012  //  By Cpl. Reece Lodder

  GARMSIR DISTRICT, Helmand province, Afghanistan - The heart of Garmsir district is safe. For the past five years, coalition forces have operated with Afghan National Security Forces to defeat the insurgency in the central Helmand River  [Read more...]

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  Follow the leader

  From the Trenches, Highlights  //  February 28th, 2012  //  By Cpl. Colby Brown

  GARMSIR DISTRICT, Helmand province, Afghanistan — Someone always has to go first. In Afghanistan, the Marine who goes first is the point man. He is the first to jump across a canal, enter a farm  [Read more...]

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  2nd Marine Division Making Mehraj Safe

  From the Trenches, Highlights  //  January 9th, 2012  //  By Marine Corps News

  By Cpl. Marco Mancha ATROL BASE MEHRAJ, Helmand province, Afghanistan — Every drop of sweat from their foreheads cools their faces as Marines patrol through the Afghan heat. Every cautious step through the cratered terrain  [Read more...]

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  Guardian of patrols: Afghan dog fights like Marine

  From the Trenches, Highlights  //  December 19th, 2011  //  By Jeff Drew, 2nd Marine Division

  FORWARD OPERATING BASE PAYNE, HELMAND PROVINCE, Afghanistan — He defends Marines and sailors with love and tenacity, protecting them as any Marine would protect a brother-in-arms. He is the epitome of man’s best friend, shielding  [Read more...]

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  A Look At Cobra Gold

  From the Trenches, Highlights  //  December 2nd, 2011  //  By Lance Cpl. Christofer P. Baines

  From its beginning in 1982, Cobra Gold has been a vital part of United States strategy in the Pacific. Hosted annually in the Kingdom of Thailand, the exercise, which is one of the largest of  [Read more...]

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  War Pig Homes: Cramming Comfort Into Life on the Road

  From the Trenches, Highlights  //  November 21st, 2011  //  By By Sgt. Jeremy Ross, 3rd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion

    One of the few constant comforts in the Marines’ deployed lives is their vehicle and they take advantage of any nooks and crannies not taken up by ammo, radios, and other gear, to create  [Read more...]

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  Brothers in Arms: Marine, Afghan soldier bridge two cultures

  From the Trenches, Highlights  //  November 14th, 2011  //  By By Cpl. Colby Brown

  GARMSIR DISTRICT, Afghanistan — Less than a month into his deployment to Afghanistan, Sgt. Benjamin Maldonado found a brother in an unlikely place. Maldonado crossed paths with Afghanistan National Army Sgt. Farhad in Garmsir District, an  [Read more...]

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  Steaks on a Plane: Steak Team Mission Brings Taste of Texas to Helmand

  From the Trenches  //  October 6th, 2011  //  By By Sgt. Earnest J. Barnes, 2nd Marine Division

  CAMP LEATHERNECK, Afghanistan   — The 8-ounce fillets hit the grill in a sizzle and juice dripped down on the red coals, causing a flow of white smoke to billow from the smoker. The line  [Read more...]

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  Bazaar Friday

  From the Trenches  //  September 18th, 2011  //  By Sgt. Jesse Stence

  GARMSIR DISTRICT, Afghanistan – As long as there is daylight at Patrol Base Jaker, the feistiest merchants of Khalaj Bazaar stand outside the gate, ceaselessly advertising kabobs and energy drinks in their shrill, adolescent voices.  [Read more...]

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  Operation Tomodachi

  From the Trenches  //  August 10th, 2011  //  By Lance Cpl. Matthew A. Denny

  NAVAL AIR FACILITY ATSUGI, Japan — Within hours of the earthquake and subsequent tsunami hitting the coast of northern Japan March 11, Marines with Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 265 received the call to assist the Japanese people  [Read more...]

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  Bridging the Gap

  From the Trenches  //  April 13th, 2011  //  By Cpl. Daniel Woodall

  TRAKH NAWA, Afghanistan – Since the removal of the Taliban as Afghanistan’s governing body nine years ago, coalition forces have helped rebuild the nation’s infrastructure, providing stability and peace to an otherwise turbulent region. Their  [Read more...]

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  Harvesting A Bright Future

  From the Trenches  //  April 13th, 2011  //  By Cpl. Alicia R. Giron

  ATLANTIC OCEAN, USS Iwo Jima — After four months of providing humanitarian assistance to eight countries in the Caribbean, Central and South America, Marines and Sailors with Special-Purpose Marine Air-Ground Task Force Continuing Promise 2010 steamed through  [Read more...]

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  Project Runway

  From the Trenches  //  December 23rd, 2010  //  By Cpl. Ryan Rholes

  FORWARD OPERATING BASE DELARAM 2, Afghanistan – Anticipation permeated the dust-filled air here as five Marines waited – 180 half-pound sticks of dynamite sealed in holes bored into the earth were 30 seconds away from  [Read more...]