U.S. Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Ronald Valdez (left), a corpsman with 1st Platoon, India Company, 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, and 30-year-old native of Waipahu, Hawaii, extends a helping hand to Marine Lance Cpl. Patrick Mireles, a team leader and 23-year-old native of Austin, Texas, as Mireles jumps a stream during a security patrol here, April 30, 2012. In November 2011, the Marines and sailors of ‘America’s Battalion’ began their final Afghanistan deployment to Helmand province’s Garmsir district. Marines and sailors of 3rd Bn., 3rd Marines conducted counterinsurgency operations under the leadership of Regimental Combat Team 5, during their seven-month deployment in Garmsir.
What began as a window of opportunity, a simple chance to change the status quo in the Central Helmand River Valley, turned into an ongoing counternarcotics operation that has prevented the annual summer fighting season from getting off the ground.
Tactical site exploitation skills are becoming an increasingly valuable asset for Afghan National Security Forces, when it comes to conducting counterinsurgency operations.
