With the fight in sight: ‘America’s Battalion’ completes training for Afghanistan deployment [Image 1 of 9]

MARINE CORPS AIR GROUND COMBAT CENTER TWENTYNINE PALMS, CA, UNITED STATES

09.26.2011

Photo by Cpl. Reece Lodder  

Marine Corps Base Hawaii

Lance Cpl. Nick Montez, an improvised explosive device dog handler with Weapons Company, 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, calms his working dog, Mally, as Lance Cpl. Jared Hunter, a mortarman with Weapons Company, 3/3, administers the dog fluids before beginning Exercise Clear, Hold, Build 4 on Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms, Calif., Sept. 26, 2011. During the evolution, the Marines of 3/3 transitioned from clearing a village’s enemy threat to re-building rapport with its citizens. The counterinsurgency training, part of the Enhanced Mojave Viper exercise, marked the completion of seven months of pre-deployment training for “America’s Battalion.” Next month, they will deploy to Afghanistan to support combat operations in Helmand province. Montez, 20, is from Lewiston, Idaho. Hunter, 21, is from Dyersburg, Tenn.

• Date Taken: 09.26.2011
• Date Posted: 09.29.2011 12:42
• Photo ID: 465049
• VIRIN: 110926-M-MM918-001
• Resolution: 2100x1268
• Size: 1.57 MB
• Location: MARINE CORPS AIR GROUND COMBAT CENTER TWENTYNINE PALMS, CA, US