Photo By Capt. James Mercure | Lance Cpl. Richard Bissett, an improvised explosive device detection dog handler with...... read more read more
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FORWARD OPERATING BASE ZEEBRUGGE, Afghanistan – At the front lines in Helmand province, a man and his best friend keep watch over the Marines protecting the Kajaki Dam.
Lance Cpl. Richard Bissett, an improvised explosive device detection dog handler with Alpha Company, 1st Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, and his faithful canine companion, Camo, help keep their Marines safe during patrols by verifying if an IED is close by.
“The Marine Corps is more on the frontline, and Camo does her job so we can do ours,” says Bissett, from North Attleboro, Mass. “I wanted to be up close and personal with the enemy, and out here you are.”
Bissett graduated from North Attleboro High School and joined the Marine Corps as an infantryman in 2009. He is deployed to Afghanistan for the second time and has gained an appreciation for the austere conditions the Marines often find themselves in.
“Being here makes you realize how much you take advantage of things back in the real world.” Bissett said. “But I wouldn’t trade the experiences I’ve had out here. We had an operation in early March where we fought from sunup to sundown, and being in a firefight with your buddy to your left and your right – nothing else matters.”
One of Bissett’s friends and fellow IED detection dog handlers, Lance Cpl. Dylan Bogue, has seen Bissett’s professionalism deployed and at home.
“He takes care of the little things,” said Bogue. “He takes care of Camo, he cares about his Marines, and he believes in what he does, and he does it with pride. He makes sure the fundamentals of being in the infantry are a constant with his Marines.”
Bissett says he misses wife, Andrea, but he works out with whatever is available to help pass the time.
The one thing he says the Marines could use at Observation Post Shrine, where Bissett is currently serving, is actual workout equipment.
“You use what you have,” Bissett said with a laugh. “And here we have sandbags and tent poles, but we make it happen.”
Editor’s Note: First Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, is part of Regimental Combat Team 6. RCT-6 falls under 1st Marine Division (Forward), which heads Task Force Leatherneck. The task force serves as the ground combat element of Regional Command (Southwest) and works in partnership with the Afghan National Security Force and the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan to conduct counterinsurgency operations. The unit is dedicated to securing the Afghan people, defeating insurgent forces, and enabling ANSF assumption of security responsibilities within its area of operations in order to support the expansion of stability, development and legitimate governance.
| Date Taken: | 05.04.2012 |
| Date Posted: | 05.04.2012 05:05 |
| Story ID: | 87865 |
| Location: | AF |
| Hometown: | NORTH ATTLEBORO, MA, US |
| Web Views: | 462 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, North Attleboro native keeps watch at the front lines in Afghanistan, by CPT James Mercure, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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