United States Marines - USMC-05976

A U.S. Marine with 1st Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, stands guard during a performance by country music star Toby Keith May 29, 2006, for U.S. service members at the Marines� forward operating base in Al Qa�im, an Iraqi city along the Iraq-Syria border in western Al Anbar province. Keith�s visit provided a break to the Marines, sailors, and soldiers of the Twenty-nine Palms, Calif.-based 1st battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, who arrived in Iraq in March and have since provided security to the region and have mentored fledgling Iraq Security Forces. Keith said he has made it his priority to visit Marines and soldiers in far-off corners of Iraq, at military bases such as the one at Al Qa�im, to express his gratitude to the troops. �I appreciate everything that you do,� said Keith to the standing crowd of more 1,000 Marines, sailors and soldiers. �Anyone who wears the uniform for the United States has my respect.� Keith, played an hour-long show under his latest United Service Organization Tour, which caters to servicemembers serving in Iraq, Afghanistan and Germany. The southern California-based battalion deployed to Iraq in February.