Lance Cpl. Dylan Ottney, an anti-tank missileman with Weapons Company, 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, scans his area while providing security in a mock Afghan village during counterinsurgency training at Schofield Barracks, Hawaii, Aug. 2, 2011. Over two weeks, 3/3’s line companies rotated from classes to two-day training evolutions at Schofield’s military operations in urban terrain facility, working through scenarios by practicing patrolling, working vehicle control points and interacting with the role-players. Moving further into their pre-deployment training program, the battalion is preparing for the Mojave Viper exercise at Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms, Calif., at the end of August. The month long training event will be their final evaluation before deploying to Afghanistan’s Helmand province in support of Operation Enduring Freedom this fall. - Lance Cpl. Dylan Ottney, an anti-tank missileman with Weapons Company, 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, scans his area while providing security in a mock Afghan village during counterinsurgency training at Schofield Barracks, Hawaii, Aug. 2, 2011. Over two weeks, 3/3’s line companies rotated from classes to two-day training evolutions at Schofield’s military operations in urban terrain facility, working through scenarios by practicing patrolling, working vehicle control points and interacting with the role-players. Moving further into their pre-deployment training program, the battalion is preparing for the Mojave Viper exercise at Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms, Calif., at the end of August. The month long training event will be their final evaluation before deploying to Afghanistan’s Helmand province in support of Operation Enduring Freedom this fall.

Lance Cpl. Anthony Nolley-Crosson, an intelligence clerk with 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, prepares to launch an RQ-11B Raven unmanned aircraft system during UAS flight operations at Marine Corps Training Area Bellows, Hawaii, July 12, 2011. In only a few short months, Nolley-Crosson and fellow 3/3 Marines will use the Raven in Afghanistan to gather intelligence, allowing battalion leaders to analyze and use the information for reconnaissance, surveillance and target acquisition. - Lance Cpl. Anthony Nolley-Crosson, an intelligence clerk with 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, prepares to launch an RQ-11B Raven unmanned aircraft system during UAS flight operations at Marine Corps Training Area Bellows, Hawaii, July 12, 2011. In only a few short months, Nolley-Crosson and fellow 3/3 Marines will use the Raven in Afghanistan to gather intelligence, allowing battalion leaders to analyze and use the information for reconnaissance, surveillance and target acquisition.

Cpl. Raymond P. Weeks, an intelligence specialist with 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, was selected as the National Military Intelligence Association’s Col. Donald G. Cook Award recipient, April 20, 2011. The award recognizes Weeks for his intelligence support to India Company, 3/3, during a 2010 deployment to Afghanistan’s Helmand province in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. The 21-year-old from Miami will be presented the award at the NMIA Awards Banquet in McLean, Va., May 15. - Cpl. Raymond P. Weeks, an intelligence specialist with 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, was selected as the National Military Intelligence Association’s Col. Donald G. Cook Award recipient, April 20, 2011. The award recognizes Weeks for his intelligence support to India Company, 3/3, during a 2010 deployment to Afghanistan’s Helmand province in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. The 21-year-old from Miami will be presented the award at the NMIA Awards Banquet in McLean, Va., May 15.

Cpl. Antonio Tellez, an administrative clerk with Headquarters Battery, 1st Battalion, 12th Marine Regiment, holds his 3-month-old son before departing Marine Corps Base Hawaii on a seven-month deployment to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom, April 25, 2011. Over the course of the week, approximately 550 Marine and sailors from 1/12 departed Hawaii to replace 1st Battalion, 10th Marine Regiment, in Afghanistan’s Helmand province. Unlike their last two deployments — supporting Task Forces Military Police in Iraq — 1/12 will revert back to its primary mission and provide artillery fire support to 2nd Marine Division (Forward) during ongoing counterinsurgency operations in the province. - Cpl. Antonio Tellez, an administrative clerk with Headquarters Battery, 1st Battalion, 12th Marine Regiment, holds his 3-month-old son before departing Marine Corps Base Hawaii on a seven-month deployment to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom, April 25, 2011. Over the course of the week, approximately 550 Marine and sailors from 1/12 departed Hawaii to replace 1st Battalion, 10th Marine Regiment, in Afghanistan’s Helmand province. Unlike their last two deployments — supporting Task Forces Military Police in Iraq — 1/12 will revert back to its primary mission and provide artillery fire support to 2nd Marine Division (Forward) during ongoing counterinsurgency operations in the province.

Marines and sailors with Headquarters and Service Company, 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, load their bags into semi trucks at the Marine Corps Exchange Annex parking lot on Marine Corps Base Hawaii before departing on a seven-month deployment to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom, April 13, 2011. Approximately 1,000 Marine and sailors from 1/3 will join Regimental Combat Team 1, based out of Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, Calif., only ten months after returning from a deployment to Helmand province’s Nawa District in support of RCT-7. Contrasting their last deployment, 1/3’s area of operation will shift further south into the province’s Garmsir District, where they will replace 2nd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment. (For high resolution image go to http://www.dvidshub.net/image/389942/rejoining-fight-1-3-lava-dogs-leave-afghanistan-deployment) - Marines and sailors with Headquarters and Service Company, 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, load their bags into semi trucks at the Marine Corps Exchange Annex parking lot on Marine Corps Base Hawaii before departing on a seven-month deployment to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom, April 13, 2011. Approximately 1,000 Marine and sailors from 1/3 will join Regimental Combat Team 1, based out of Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, Calif., only ten months after returning from a deployment to Helmand province’s Nawa District in support of RCT-7. Contrasting their last deployment, 1/3’s area of operation will shift further south into the province’s Garmsir District, where they will replace 2nd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment. (For high resolution image go to http://www.dvidshub.net/image/389942/rejoining-fight-1-3-lava-dogs-leave-afghanistan-deployment)