Marines from 4th Tank Battalion, Twentynine Palms, Calif., roll down a dirt road on their M1A1 Abrams Main Battle Tank during a day of training at Exercise Africa Lion 2012, April 13, 2012. Marines from 4th Tank Battalion, Twentynine Palms, Calif., clean their M1A1 Abrams Main Battle Tank, April 10, after a day of training during Exercise Africa Lion 2012. AL-12 is a U.S. African Command-sponsored, Marine Forces Africa-led exercise involving various types of training including command post, live-fire and maneuvering, peace keeping operations, an intelligence capacity building seminar, aerial refueling/low-level flight training, as well as medical and dental assistance projects. The annual exercise is designed to improve interoperability and mutual understanding of each nation’s military tactics, techniques and procedures. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Tyler Main)

Afghan children walk alongside U.S. Marine Lance Cpl. Jacob Kartchner, a team leader with 4th Platoon, Kilo Company, 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, and 28-year-old native of Long Beach, Calif., in the hopes of receiving candy from Kartchner as he patrols with fellow Marines and Afghan National Police outside the Hazar Joft Bazaar here, April 8, 2012. On the patrol, the Kilo Co. Marines partnered with members of the ANP to maintain security in and around the bazaar, one of the busiest commercial centers in Helmand province’s Garmsir district. Their partnership is a vital part of preparing the Afghan National Security Forces to assume lead security responsibility in Garmsir. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Reece Lodder)

U.S. Navy Petty Officer 3rd Class Benjamin Knauth (blue), a 29-year-old native of Centennial, Colo., and Petty Officer 2nd Class Dustin Koch, a 26-year-old native of Las Cruces, N.M., corpsmen with 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, place reassuring hands on the shoulder of an Afghan National Policeman while examining his injuries in the battalion aid station here following an attack by a suicide bomber in Helmand province’s Garmsir district, April 19, 2012. The 3/3 corpsmen treated eight injured Afghan policemen after being faced with a mass casualty situation following the attack on an ANP precinct headquarters in Garmsir’s Lakari region. Ten of the 18 total ANP casualties died from wounds sustained in the attack. After initially being stabilized by three 3/3 corpsmen at Combat Outpost Sharp, eight casualties were transported to FOB Delhi and treated by a team of 28 Navy personnel. Medical evacuation helicopters later transported six ANP casualties to Camp Dwyer’s Casualty Support Hospital for further treatment, while the remaining two were treated and released. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Reece Lodder)

Sgt. Cogen T. Nelson from Clermont, Fla., rides with the Marine Corps flag during cycling practice for the 2012 Warrior Games in Colorado Springs, Colo., April 28, 2012. Nelson, a second-time participant in the games, will be competing for the Ultimate Champion title. The Warrior Games is a competition between wounded warriors from all military branches and includes swimming, track and field, cycling, shooting, archery, sitting volleyball, and wheelchair basketball. The 2012 Warrior Games will run from May 1 through May 5. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Daniel Wetzel)

Retired Gunnery Sgt. Thomas E. Williams, director of the United States Marine Corps Historical Company, fires a World War II flame thrower during the Fire Weapons From Marine Corps History event at Marine Corps Base Quantico, Va., April 13, 2012. The flamethrower, equipped with gasoline tanks and a gun group, was first used in combat on Guadalcanal in 1943. Its primary use was against defensive positions such as bunkers. This particular flamethrower was used in the movies “Flags of our Fathers” and “The Code Talkers: A Secret Code of Honor.” (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Chelsea Flowers Anderson)

Lance Cpl. Adrian Simone, a rifleman with 1st Platoon, Company B, 1st Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, throws up both hands to represent 1st Bn., 6th Marines at the end of the 2nd Marine Division run aboard Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, N.C., April 20, 2012. The Boonton, N.J., native lost both of his legs from the knee down after stepping on an improvised explosive device in Sangin, located in the southwest corner of Afghanistan. Sgt. Bryan Peterson was at the run taking photos and had this to say: “I was out with the 2nd Marine Division run this morning, around 16,000 Marines, and this Marine who lost both his legs and part of his left thumb from an IED blast in Afghanistan, was asked by his superior if he needed to get out of the formation to rest. He said, ‘No sir,’ and started screaming his unit’s name, ’1st Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment.’ Truly humbling. I was speechless. Where do we find such awesome men?” (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Timothy Solano)

An Afghan boy petitions U.S. Marine Lance Cpl. Christopher Bones, a rifleman with 3rd Platoon, India Company, 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, and 21-year-old native of Brookings, Ore., for candy after receiving a water bottle from another Marine during a security patrol here, April 28, 2012. On the patrol, the Marines gave a battlefield tour of the Safar region to their replacements with Kilo Company, 3rd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment. After arriving in Helmand province’s Garmsir district in October 2011, the ‘America’s Battalion’ Marines are nearing the end of their seven-month deployment. During the deployment, they aided Afghan National Security Forces in assuming lead security responsibility of Garmsir, developing and expanding legitimate Afghan governance by defeating insurgent forces and securing the people of Garmsir. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Reece Lodder)