Lance Cpl. Brandon Mann, a dog handler with Alpha Company, 1st Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, and native of Arlington, Texas, helps Sgt. Guillermo Floresmartines, an assistant squad leader with Alpha Co., 1st LAR, and 25-year-old native of Menifee, Calif., out of a canal during a patrol here, Feb. 16, 2012. Marines and sailors with 1st LAR and India Co., 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, conducted clearing and disrupting operations in and around the villages of Sre Kala and Paygel during Operation Highland Thunder. Marines with 1st LAR led the operation on foot, sweeping for enemy weapons and drug caches through 324 square kilometers of rough, previously unoccupied desert and marshland terrain. Mobile units with1st LAR set up blocking positions and vehicle check points while India Co., 3/3 conducted helicopter inserts to disrupt insurgent freedom of movement. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Alfred V. Lopez)

A Marine assigned to Marine Fighter Squadron (VMA) 231 inspects an AV-8B Harrier prior to flight operations aboard the amphibious assault ship USS Kearsarge (LHD 3) during Bold Alligator 2012, Feb. 2. Bold Alligator 2012, the largest naval amphibious exercise in the past 10 years, represents the Navy and Marine Corps’ revitalization of the full range of amphibious operations. The exercise focuses on today’s fight with today’s forces, while showcasing the advantages of seabasing. This exercise takes place Jan. 30 – Feb. 12, 2012 afloat and ashore in and around Virginia and North Carolina. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Tommy Lamkin)

Lance Cpl. Kyle Draper kneels before a pair of boots and a rifle at a Feb. 17 memorial service aboard USS Makin Island honoring corpsman Petty Officer 3rd Class Kyler L. Estrada, who died in a Djibouti training accident Feb. 14. Estrada, who served with Company I, Battalion Landing Team 3/1, was 21 and a native of Maricopa, Ariz. “Doc died in the company of his brothers,” said company commander Capt. Matt McGirr. The landing team is the ground combat element for the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit, deployed as part of the Makin Island Amphibious Ready Group to the U.S. Fifth Fleet area of responsibility. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Gunnery Sgt. Scott Dunn)

Lance Cpl. Tom Morton, a 23-year-old team leader with 3rd Platoon, Kilo Company, 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, and native of Nashville, Tenn., hands an Afghan child a toy during a security patrol here, Feb. 25, 2012. On the patrol, the 3rd Platoon Marines partnered with Afghan National Police to search for insurgent activity in Safar Bazaar, Garmsir district’s busiest commercial center. They mentor the ANP in a partnered combat operations center at PB Bury, and patrol with them throughout Safar. The 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)

Cpl. Marcus Chischilly, a Wounded Warrior with the West Team, dives in the pool at the start of the 50 meter race during the 2012 Marine Corps Trials, hosted by the Wounded Warrior Regiment, at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, Calif., Feb. 21, 2012. Chischilly, from Phoenix, won the silver medal in the race for single-leg amputees. Wounded Warrior Marines, veterans and allies are competing in the second annual trials, which include swimming, wheelchair basketball, sitting volleyball, track and field, archery and shooting. The top 50 performing Marines will earn the opportunity to compete in the Warrior Games in Colorado Springs in May. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Mark Fayloga)

Lance Cpls. Ryan Snyder, a 21-year-old team leader from Kapolei, Hawaii, and David Lambert, a 21-year-old mortarman from Granbury, Texas, assigned to the 81mm Mortar Platoon, Weapons Company, 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, talk while providing security from their defensive position as the sun sets during Operation Shahem Tofan (Eagle Storm) here, Feb. 11, 2012. After arriving in the desert on helicopters and an armored convoy, Afghan Border Police and the Weapons Marines scoured dusty highways for smugglers and insurgents moving across the eastern desert into Helmand province, Feb. 10-13. The mission was a shift from the ABP’s current assignment in Garmsir district, where they keep watch over its southern population centers. Under the coalition mentorship, they are returning to their core capability of interdicting insurgent activity across Helmand’s border.
(U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Reece Lodder)

A Marine with Battalion Landing Team 1st Battalion, 4th Marines, 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, poses for a photograph during a visit, here, Feb. 23, 2012. The Marines volunteered their time after successfully completing Exercise Cobra Gold 2012. Cobra Gold 2012 demonstrates the resolve of the U.S. and participating nations to increase interoperability and promote security and peace throughout the Asia-Pacific region. The 31st MEU is the only continuously forward-deployed MEU and remains the nation’s force in readiness in the Asia-Pacific region. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Garry Welch)