Gunnery Sgt. Timothy C. Tardif, staff noncommissioned officer of Scout Sniper School, School of Infantry West-Detachment Hawaii, and a 32-year-old native of Denver, speaks to Marines of Corporals Course at Dewey Square on Marine Corps Base Hawaii, Feb. 25, 2013. The Marines had just completed a four hour-long case study, or training exercise, based off of true experiences Tardif faced as a corporal in combat during Operation Iraqi Freedom, April 12, 2003. Tardif received shrapnel wounds while assaulting the enemy compound and refused medical attention in order to keep fighting alongside his platoon. Thirteen months later he was awarded the Silver Star for the actions he displayed on that day. Tardif explained to the Marines the Marine Corps is what they make of it, and the effectiveness of their leadership will depend of the bond they build with their Marines. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Matthew Bragg) - Gunnery Sgt. Timothy C. Tardif, staff noncommissioned officer of Scout Sniper School, School of Infantry West-Detachment Hawaii, and a 32-year-old native of Denver, speaks to Marines of Corporals Course at Dewey Square on Marine Corps Base Hawaii, Feb. 25, 2013. The Marines had just completed a four hour-long case study, or training exercise, based off of true experiences Tardif faced as a corporal in combat during Operation Iraqi Freedom, April 12, 2003. Tardif received shrapnel wounds while assaulting the enemy compound and refused medical attention in order to keep fighting alongside his platoon. Thirteen months later he was awarded the Silver Star for the actions he displayed on that day. Tardif explained to the Marines the Marine Corps is what they make of it, and the effectiveness of their leadership will depend of the bond they build with their Marines. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Matthew Bragg)

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 with 3rd Marine Regiment honor the regiment’s fallen Marines and sailors while taking a knee at the Pacific War Memorial during a Fallen Heroes Run on Marine Corps Base Hawaii, Dec. 15, 2010. Since 2004, 116 Marines and sailors from 3rd Marine Regiment have been killed during operations in Afghanistan and Iraq. On Dec. 14 and 15, teams of at least two Marines or sailors in combat boots and camouflage trousers ran a 2-mile evolution 116 times — one for each fallen hero. The route took them from the 3rd Marine Regiment headquarters building to the Pacific War Memorial here and back. - Marines with 3rd Marine Regiment honor the regiment’s fallen Marines and sailors while taking a knee at the Pacific War Memorial during a Fallen Heroes Run on Marine Corps Base Hawaii, Dec. 15, 2010. Since 2004, 116 Marines and sailors from 3rd Marine Regiment have been killed during operations in Afghanistan and Iraq. On Dec. 14 and 15, teams of at least two Marines or sailors in combat boots and camouflage trousers ran a 2-mile evolution 116 times — one for each fallen hero. The route took them from the 3rd Marine Regiment headquarters building to the Pacific War Memorial here and back.

The 21-month-old daughter of Lt. Cmdr. Alan Miller, training officer, Patrol Squadron 9, waves an American flag and greets her father as he returns to Marine Corps Air Station Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii, from a six-month deployment, Nov. 16, 2010. During the deployment, VP-9 detached throughout the Navy’s 5th and 7th Fleet areas of responsibility. A group of VP-9 P-3s supported 5th Fleet maritime operations in Operation Iraqi Freedom from Isa Air Base in Bahrain. From their hub at Kadena Air Base, the remaining portion of VP-9 detached throughout the 7th Fleet AOR, working with a variety of coalition partners including Guam, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea and Thailand. - The 21-month-old daughter of Lt. Cmdr. Alan Miller, training officer, Patrol Squadron 9, waves an American flag and greets her father as he returns to Marine Corps Air Station Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii, from a six-month deployment, Nov. 16, 2010. During the deployment, VP-9 detached throughout the Navy’s 5th and 7th Fleet areas of responsibility. A group of VP-9 P-3s supported 5th Fleet maritime operations in Operation Iraqi Freedom from Isa Air Base in Bahrain. From their hub at Kadena Air Base, the remaining portion of VP-9 detached throughout the 7th Fleet AOR, working with a variety of coalition partners including Guam, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea and Thailand.