Lance Cpl. Cody Campioni, a dog handler with the Dog Handler Platoon, Headquarters and Service Company, 1st Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, conducts bumper drills with his dog at Combat Outpost Shabu, Afghanistan, Sept. 18. Marines use dogs in Afghanistan to locate improvised explosive devices. - Lance Cpl. Cody Campioni, a dog handler with the Dog Handler Platoon, Headquarters and Service Company, 1st Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, conducts bumper drills with his dog at Combat Outpost Shabu, Afghanistan, Sept. 18. Marines use dogs in Afghanistan to locate improvised explosive devices.

Sergeant David Fresenius, an assistant team leader with 3rd Platoon, Bravo Company, 1st Reconnaissance Battalion, is awarded the Purple Heart by Brig. Gen. Joseph Osterman, 1st Marine Division (Forward) commanding general, aboard Camp Leatherneck, Sept. 23. The 23-year-old from Westminster, Calif., was hit in the top of his back’s protective Sapi plate during a small arms fire engagement in Trek Nawa, on June 21, 2010. The round lodged in his protective gear, just millimeters away from breaking skin and hitting his upper spine. After his corpsman attended to the wound, that left a baseball-sized welt in his upper back, a very lucky and determined Fresenius re-donned his gear, and got back in the engagement with the Taliban that lasted just over an hour. “It felt like I had been hit with a sledge hammer,” Fresenius said. “Once I realized I was okay, my only thoughts were to get back to the fight – to get back with my men.” - Sergeant David Fresenius, an assistant team leader with 3rd Platoon, Bravo Company, 1st Reconnaissance Battalion, is awarded the Purple Heart by Brig. Gen. Joseph Osterman, 1st Marine Division (Forward) commanding general, aboard Camp Leatherneck, Sept. 23. The 23-year-old from Westminster, Calif., was hit in the top of his back’s protective Sapi plate during a small arms fire engagement in Trek Nawa, on June 21, 2010. The round lodged in his protective gear, just millimeters away from breaking skin and hitting his upper spine. After his corpsman attended to the wound, that left a baseball-sized welt in his upper back, a very lucky and determined Fresenius re-donned his gear, and got back in the engagement with the Taliban that lasted just over an hour. “It felt like I had been hit with a sledge hammer,” Fresenius said. “Once I realized I was okay, my only thoughts were to get back to the fight – to get back with my men.”

Marines with Weapons Platoon, Company B, 1st Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, patrol toward the village of Shabu, Afghanistan Sept. 15. Twice a day the Marines patrol several miles to get to Shabu to maintain village security. - Marines with Weapons Platoon, Company B, 1st Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, patrol toward the village of Shabu, Afghanistan Sept. 15. Twice a day the Marines patrol several miles to get to Shabu to maintain village security.

Navy Capt. Bryan Schumacher, the 1st Marine Division (Forward) surgeon, from Kansas City, Mo., and Navy CMdr. Ruchira Densert, the 1st MarDiv (Fwd) deputy surgeon, from Portland, Ore., received their Fleet Marine Force qualification pins, Sept. 20, while deployed to Camp Leatherneck, Afghanistan, in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. - Navy Capt. Bryan Schumacher, the 1st Marine Division (Forward) surgeon, from Kansas City, Mo., and Navy CMdr. Ruchira Densert, the 1st MarDiv (Fwd) deputy surgeon, from Portland, Ore., received their Fleet Marine Force qualification pins, Sept. 20, while deployed to Camp Leatherneck, Afghanistan, in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.

Lance Corporal Garrett Elting, a mortarman with Weapons Platoon, Company B, 1st Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, looks for a visible vein on Lance Cpl. Daniel Exner, a mortarman with Weapons Plt., Co. B, 1st LAR Bn., during a combat lifesaving class at Combat Outpost Shabu, Sept. 17. “It’s very important for us to know how to apply the IV’s because this is a dangerous place and you never know when you might need the training,” said Elting, a Lincoln, Neb., native. - Lance Corporal Garrett Elting, a mortarman with Weapons Platoon, Company B, 1st Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, looks for a visible vein on Lance Cpl. Daniel Exner, a mortarman with Weapons Plt., Co. B, 1st LAR Bn., during a combat lifesaving class at Combat Outpost Shabu, Sept. 17. “It’s very important for us to know how to apply the IV’s because this is a dangerous place and you never know when you might need the training,” said Elting, a Lincoln, Neb., native.

Brigadier Gen. Joseph Osterman, 1st Marine Division (Forward) commanding general, and Sgt. Maj. Phillip A. Fascetti, 1st MarDiv(Fwd) sergeant major, render a salute during a Colors and Memorial Dedication ceremony held aboard Camp Leatherneck, Afghanistan, Sept. 16, 2010. Brig.::r::::n::Gen. Osterman was presiding over the official opening of a memorial monument set up to honor the fallen heroes of 1st Marine Division, since the division took over the as the ground combat element in Helmand province in March. - Brigadier Gen. Joseph Osterman, 1st Marine Division (Forward) commanding general, and Sgt. Maj. Phillip A. Fascetti, 1st MarDiv(Fwd) sergeant major, render a salute during a Colors and Memorial Dedication ceremony held aboard Camp Leatherneck, Afghanistan, Sept. 16, 2010. Brig.::r::::n::Gen. Osterman was presiding over the official opening of a memorial monument set up to honor the fallen heroes of 1st Marine Division, since the division took over the as the ground combat element in Helmand province in March.

Marines with Weapons Platoon, Company B, 1st Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, patrol toward the village of Shabu, Afghanistan Sept. 15. Twice a day the Marines patrol several miles to get to Shabu to maintain village security. - Marines with Weapons Platoon, Company B, 1st Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, patrol toward the village of Shabu, Afghanistan Sept. 15. Twice a day the Marines patrol several miles to get to Shabu to maintain village security.