U.S. Marine Corps Sgt. Martin D. Contreras (left) and Cpl. Francisco J. Roman check the communications system inside their humvee, the "Punisher,' before departing the base to conduct a mounted combat patrol at Al Asad, Iraq, June 13, 2006. Contreras is the patrol leader and Roman is the assistant vehicle commander for the mounted combat patrol team Diamondback 3, assigned to 1st Platoon, Echo Company, 1st Battalion, 14th Marine Regiment, Marine Wing Support Group 37 (Reinforced), 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. James B. Hoke

U.S. Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Bret B. Price installs a .50-caliber machine gun on a humvee before a mounted combat patrol at Al Asad, Iraq, June 13, 2006. Price is a machine gunner with the mounted combat patrol team Diamondback 3, assigned to 1st Platoon, Echo Company, 1st Battalion, 14th Marine Regiment, Marine Wing Support Group 37 (Reinforced), 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. James B. Hoke

U.S. Marines conducting a mounted combat patrol in their humvee near Al Asad, Iraq, June 15, 2006, pause at one of the checkpoints to briefly observe the area before moving on. The Marines are with the mounted combat patrol team Diamondback 3, assigned to 1st Platoon, Echo Company, 1st Battalion, 14th Marine Regiment, Marine Wing Support Group 37 (Reinforced), 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing; they conduct patrols every day in random locations around the base in order to push the secure environment inside the base well beyond its borders. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. James B. Hoke

U.S. Navy Seaman Ryan C. Clemons looks back at an Iraqi village after sweeping through it with U.S. Marines during a mounted combat patrol near Al Asad, Iraq, June 15, 2006. Clemons is a corpsman with the mounted combat patrol team Diamondback 3, assigned to 1st Platoon, Echo Company, 1st Battalion, 14th Marine Regiment, Marine Wing Support Group 37 (Reinforced), 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. James B. Hoke

U.S. Marines conduct a mounted combat patrol in their humvee through the desert near Al Asad, Iraq, as the sun sets, June 15, 2006. The Marines are with the mounted combat patrol team Diamondback 3, assigned to 1st Platoon, Echo Company, 1st Battalion, 14th Marine Regiment, Marine Wing Support Group 37 (Reinforced), 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. James B. Hoke

Marines just returning from a mounted combat patrol in the areas surrounding Al Asad, Iraq, June 15, 2006, free their weapons of any dirt or dust collected during the patrol. The Marines are with the mounted combat patrol team Diamondback 3, assigned to 1st Platoon, Echo Company, 1st Battalion, 14th Marine Regiment, Marine Wing Support Group 37 (Reinforced), 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing; they conduct mounted combat patrols every day in random locations around the base in order to push the secure environment inside the base well beyond its borders. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. James B. Hoke