from http://www.defendamerica.mil

U.S. Marines from "America's Battalion" leap from a CH-47 Chinook helicopter hovering just above the snowy hills of Korangal, Afghanistan, during their insertion for Operation Spurs, Jan. 29, 2005. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Rich Mattingly


U.S. Marine Corps 2nd Lt. Caleb Weiss, platoon commander, and Sgt. Nick Lentz, squad leader, both with Lima Company, 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marines, lead their Marines toward the next house during a cordon and search of a village in Korangal Valley, Afghanistan, during Operation Spurs, Jan. 20, 2005. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Rich Mattingly



U.S. Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Dan Robert, squad automatic weapon gunner with Lima Company, charges forward through the deep snow of the Hindu Kush mountains to his squad's next objective during cordon and search operations as part of Operation Spurs, Jan. 29, 2005. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Rich Mattingly



U.S. Marine Corps Lance Corporal Tyler Corbaley, Lima Company rifleman, and U.S. Army Sgt. Ashley Schroeder-Petersen, a military policeman with 58th Military Police Company, 25th Infantry Division, pass bars of antibacterial soap to an Afghan medic during a humanitarian and medical assistance operation in the Korangal Valley, Afghanistan, Jan. 30, 2005. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Rich Mattingly



U.S. Marine Corps Cpls. Michael Lazzari and Thomas Rooney, riflemen with Lima Company, 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marines, quickly search houses in the Korangal Valley, Afghanistan, while U.S. Navy Seaman Nathan Monteil, Lima Company hospital corpsman, keeps an eye out for enemy movement, Jan. 29, 2005. The Marines searched houses believed to be hideouts for insurgents in the valley during Operation Spurs. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Rich Mattingly



U.S. Marine Corps Cpl. Thomas Rooney, rifleman with Lima Company, 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marines, surveys the village in the Korangal Valley, Afghanistan, Jan. 29, 2005, where he and his platoonmates participated in Operation Spurs. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Rich Mattingly



U.S. Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Paul White, rifleman with Lima Company, 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marines, monitors satellite communications during Operation Spurs in the Korangal Valley, Afghanistan, Jan. 29, 2005. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Rich Mattingly



U.S. Marine Josh Ploetz, Lima Company machine gunner, 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marines, looks over the sights of his M240G machine gun as a CH47 Chinook helicopter prepares to drop medical supplies near the Marines' position high in the Hindu Kush mountains of Afghanistan, Jan. 29, 2005, during Operation Spurs. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Rich Mattingly



U.S. Marines and sailors from America's Battalion, 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marines, "stack" on a fence moments before entering another house during their exhaustive search of a village in the Korangal Valley, Afghanistan. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Rich Mattingly



U.S. Navy Petty Officer 3rd Class Robert High gives a winter coat to an Afghan boy during a medical and humanitarian assistance effort in Korangal, Afghanistan. After securing the village, Navy corpsmen and Afghan medics provided locals with much-needed medical care and supplies. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Rich Mattingly



U.S. Marines from 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marines, charge on to an Army CH-47 Chinook helicopter in the Korangal Valley, Afghanistan, Jan. 29, 2005, as a part of Operation Spurs. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Rich Mattingly