Foto operative (REAL ACTION)

[Petro]

bellissime!!
da che sito vengono?

[Petro]

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during a firefight with taliban militants u.s. marine lance cpl. jordan christie, of washington, ind. with 3rd platoon, bravo company, 1st battalion 5th marines sprints down an irrigation canal to a location to launch his rocket in nawa district, helmand province, southern afghanistan, sunday, oct. 4, 2009. taliban militants attacked the marines on patrol using assault rifles, medium machine guns, and snipers. (ap / brennan linsley)

following a firefight with taliban militants, a u.s. marine searches a home as his squad checked for signs of their enemy while also working to establish a friendly ******* with local residents in a contested area of nawa district, helmand province, southern afghanistan, sunday, oct. 4, 2009. a joint patrol of marines and afghan army came under fire from taliban militants, but leaving no u.s. casualties. (ap / brennan linsley)

during a firefight with taliban militants, a spent shell casing flies through the air as u.s. marine lance cpl. jordan christie, of washington, ind. with 3rd platoon, bravo company, 1st battalion 5th marines returns fire, in nawa district, helmand province, southern afghanistan, sunday, oct. 4, 2009. taliban militants opened fire on the marine patrol. (ap / brennan linsley)

during a firefight with taliban militants u.s. marine lance cpl. jordan christie, of washington, ind. with 3rd platoon, bravo company, 1st battalion 5th marines returns fire, in nawa district, helmand province, southern afghanistan, sunday, oct. 4, 2009. taliban militants opened up on the marine patrol.

during a firefight with taliban militants, u.s. marine cpl. bobby orr, of fairbanks, alaska, with 3rd platoon, bravo company, 1st battalion 5th marines returns fire, in nawa district, helmand province, southern afghanistan, sunday, oct. 4, 2009. taliban militants opened up on the marine patrol using assault rifles, medium machine guns, and snipers.

during a lull in a firefight with taliban militants, afghan army local commander mohammed hussein, left, stands with marine squad leader sgt. matthew duquette, of warrenville, ill. , who shouts out orders to marines from 3rd platoon, bravo company, 1st battalion 5th marines, in nawa district, helmand province, southern afghanistan, sunday, oct. 4, 2009.

following a firefight with taliban militants, a u.s. marine cobra attack helicopter circles overhead to support marine infantrymen on the ground, in nawa district, helmand province helmand province, southern afghanistan, sunday, oct. 4, 2009.

during a firefight with taliban militants, debris and spent shell casing fly as u.s. marine lance cpl. roy aeschlimann, of tucker, georgia, with 3rd platoon, bravo company, 1st battalion 5th marines returns fire, in nawa district, helmand province, southern afghanistan, sunday, oct. 4, 2009. taliban militants opened up on the marine patrol using assault rifles, medium machine guns, and snipers.

afghan children approach sgt. ryan pettit, from 8th marine regiment, u.s. marines, during a foot patrol in the center of garmsir district in helmand province october 4, 2009.

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lt. col. william mccollough, left, commander of 1st battalion, 5th marine regiment, shakes hands with abdul manaf, the governor of the nawa district of the helmand province of afghanistan, in nawa. mccollough is attached to regimental combat team 3, which is deployed to conduct counterinsurgency operations in partnership with afghan national security forces in southern afghanistan.

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marines from the 31st marine expeditionary unit (meu) and sailors from amphibious task group 11 (atg 11) offload cargo from the forward-deployed transport dock ship uss denver (lpd 9), oct. 3 in support of the meu’s humanitarian assistance/ disaster relief (ha/dr) efforts in the republic of the philippines. (official u.s. marine corps photo by sgt. rodolfo toro)

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cpl. robert chavarria, a motor transportation mechanic with headquarters and services company, 1st battalion, 4th marine regiment secures a pallet of food to the back of a 7-ton truck during an air drop resupply exercise aboard the depot here sept. 29. the battalion, based out of marine corps camp pendleton, calif., is currently going through the marine corps mountain warfare training center bridgeport, calif., mountain warriors course, a three-week training evolution designed to teach marines essential survival techniques and how to maneuver throughout mountainous regions like afghanistan.

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capt. brandon stockwell, the air officer for 1st battalion, 4th marine regiment, calls in an air resupply mission aboard the depot here sept. 29. stockwell, a la fayette, ind., native, said aircraft can be called in for multiple purposes, including air strikes and ammunition resupplies.

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cpl. robert chavarria, a motor transportation mechanic with headquarters and services company, 1st battalion, 4th marine regiment secures a pallet of food to the back of a 7-ton truck during an air drop resupply exercise aboard the depot here sept. 29. the pallets were dropped from a c130j super tanker, flying at only 600 feet above the ground.

[Petro]

10/5/2009 by cpl. daniel flynn , regimental combat team 3
when many people think about the u.s. marine corps, generations of fierce warriors come to mind.
when measured against the marines’ activities here today, it is a stereotype that still holds true in many circumstances. modern marines here are more than warriors though. more often than not, they are also diplomats.

the marines of regimental combat team 3’s mine-resistant ambush-protected vehicle company, parts of the regiment’s headquarters, and afghan national army soldiers conducted operation gator crawl – a rolling patrol near here sept. 23 through 25.

operation gator crawl allowed the marines and ana soldiers to visit villages in nawa district where nato or afghan government forces had not been in years. this operation was a chance to gauge atmospherics, gain a little understanding about an area in which very little was known and positively interact with the people living there.

mrap co. often conducts patrols on their own, but for this mission they had the additional support of civil affairs, intelligence, a female engagement team and an ana detachment. the patrol was broken up into smaller sections allowing the force to spread out over a greater distance and interact in different villages simultaneously.

“our mission during this operation was to provide security,” said staff sgt. justin andrew park, section leader with mrap co. but they also got the chance to interact with the local populace alongside the ana during the mission.

according to park, they talked with the locals and assured them they and the ana were there to provide security and assistance.

during the two days the marines patrolled through the villages, they spoke to the men and women they encountered in an attempt to determine their concerns. what topped the list were clean water and education.

“we were there to do several different things,” said lt.col. leonard j. defrancisci, 4th civil affairs group detachment commander. the cag marines were focused on establishing relationships with the locals, identifying key leaders in the villages and researching what problems the people are facing – like whether education, clean water or security is the highest priority.

one of the other objectives was to bolster the image and confidence of the ana, according to defrancisci. to help reinforce this, the afghan soldiers distributed supplies to the locals.

also, the evening of the first full day of the operation, the marines, ana and other attachments found an abandoned, rundown compound where they planned to spend the night. the locals did not like this idea because it positioned the marines too close to the village. when the elders came to confront them about this issue, it was the ana who spoke with the elders and made the call to move to a different location.

defrancisci said, “we could have stepped in, but we wanted it to be an afghan answer to an afghan problem.”

as the convoy was preparing to depart the area and return here, all thoughts of making it back before dinner were forgotten as insurgents opened fire with ak-47s on what they thought was only a small group of marines they saw on one side of the last village.

“i heard a couple of pops, and at first i thought it was just some of the local kids playing,” said cpl. justin lee lail, mrap co. vehicle commander. “then i heard the pops again, and that is when i realized it was small arms fire.”

within seconds two other mraps and more marines rounded a corner to add their firepower to the fight. two of the insurgents were observed running away. one was killed. none of the friendly forces or civilians were hurt.

“the reason the movement to fire went so well is because of small unit leadership, good corporals,” added the 28-year-old chillicothe, ohio, native. “i couldn’t be more proud of them.”

pride in their performance under fire is one obvious way to recognize these marines’ and afghan soldiers’ accomplishment. this operation can’t be labeled a complete success, however, until the next group of ana and marines visit. how cooperative and receptive the villagers are next time will be the measure of achievement for these few days on the road.

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master sgt. christopher burrell, company master sergeant with mine-resistant ambush-protected vehicle company, post security after a firefight near here sept. 23, 2009. regimental combat team 3's mrap co. executed a three-day patrol, partnered with afghan national army soldiers, to villages in nawa district here that hadn't seen nato, u.s. or afghan government forces in years.

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sgt. joseph bria, with mine-resistant ambush-protected vehicle company, and master sgt. christopher burrell, company master sergeant with mrap company, post security after a firefight near here sept. 23, 2009 during operation gator crawl. regimental combat team 3's mrap co. executed the three-day patrol, in partnership with afghan national army soldiers, to villages in nawa district that hadn't seen nato, u.s. or afghan government forces in years.

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helmand province, afghanistan - mine resistant ambush protective vehicles form a circle so the marines of mrap company can rest for the night sept. 23, 2009, here.

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soldiers with the afghan national army, marines with mine resistant ambush protective (mrap) company and attachments patrolled through several small villages sept. 23, 2009, during operation gator crawl here.

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lt.col. leonard j. defrancisci, civil affairs detachment commander, participates in a key leader engagement sept. 23, 2009, during operation gator crawl here.

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sgt. joseph bria, with mine resistant ambush protective (mrap) company, looks for any threat which might be lying in wait for the marines of mrap company sept. 23, 2009, here.

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cpl. justin kempher, with mine resistant ambush protective (mrap) company, holds rear security sept. 23, 2009, during operation gator crawl here.

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sgt. andrew donaldson, with mine resistant ambush protective (mrap) company, holds rear security with his shadow, an afghan national army soldiers sept. 23, 2009, during operation gator crawl here.

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cpl. joseph leffer and sgt. andrew donaldson, with mine resistant ambush protective (mrap) company, hold rear security with there shadows, two afghan national army soldiers sept. 23, 2009, during operation gator crawl here.