(From Left) Lance Cpl. Jacob S. Brehm, Staff Sgt. Peter S. Ramos, Lance Cpl. Brandyn E. Council, and Cpl. Michael S. Ussery serve with Echo Company, 2nd Battalion, 4th Marine Reigment. Brehm, Council and Ussery More
A Marine with Echo Company, 2nd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, looks at a distant ridgeline through his Advanced Combat Optical Gunsight. The Marines and Afghan Uniformed Police were engaged by insurgent figh More
Corporal Michael S. Ussery, a Rochelle, Ga., native and a rifleman with Echo Company, 2nd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, is currently on his second combat tour to Afghanistan. The team leader with 3rd Platoon More
Marines with Echo Company, Afghan Uniformed Police patrolmen, and interpreters gathered around a fire became a common sight and a daily occurrence during Operation Double Check. The Marines and their Afghan cou More
Corporal George W. Casey (right), a 29-year-old squad leader with 3rd Platoon, counts off Marines from his platoon to gain accountability as they prepare for a recent night extract. Casey led his squad while c More
(From Left) Lance Cpl. Jacob S. Brehm, Staff Sgt. Peter S. Ramos, Lance Cpl. Brandyn E. Council, and Cpl. Michael S. Ussery serve with Echo Company, 2nd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment. Brehm, Council and Ussery More
Captain George J. Flynn III, a Woodbridge, Va., native and the commanding officer for Echo Company, 2nd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, speaks into his field radio operator’s handset. Lance Cpl. Nichalos A. Tuc More
A Marine with 3rd Platoon catches up on his rest after a patrol. The platoon members belong to Echo Company, 2nd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, and are participating in Operation Double Check, an operation to More
Marines in the foreground use articles of clothing to cover their faces to get some much-needed rest after a night of patrolling. Marines and sailors in the background prepare for an upcoming patrol, while othe More
Marines with 3rd Platoon walk toward a CH-53 Sea Stallion during a night extract after participating in the initial phase of Operation Double Check, an ongoing operation to promote legitimate governance and sec More
Corporal Jayananda D. Braeger, a Berkeley, Calif., native and an M2 .50 caliber machine gunner with Echo Company’s mobile unit, peers through a set of binoculars looking for any imminent threat that could endan More
Lance Cpl. Adam Ridgeway, a Chicago native and an infantryman with Echo Company, removes the buffer and buffer spring from his M-16A4 service rifle. Marines clean their weapon systems after patrols and engagem More
Corporal Michael S. Ussery, a Rochelle, Ga., native and a rifleman with Echo Company, 2nd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, conducts a security patrol during Operation Double Check, an ongoing operation to promot More
Marines with Echo Company, 2nd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, take a break from patrolling as the sun begins to rise. The Marines, along with their Afghan Uniformed Police counterparts, began clearing one of t More
Marines with 3rd Platoon trudge through a muddy field while conducting a security patrol west of the village of Regay. The Marines belonging to Echo Company, 2nd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, provided securit More
Corporal Nicholas W. Abey, a Houston native and a scout sniper with the Scout Sniper Platoon, Echo Company, grabbed the first spot he could find to sleep after a long night of patrolling. The snipers with 2nd More
Corporal Michael S. Ussery, a Rochelle, Ga., native and a rifleman with Echo Company, 2nd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, speaks to a local villager during a patrol to gage their feelings on important issues in More
Lance Cpl. Anthony L. Sickman, a Grand Rapids, Mich., native and an infantryman with Echo Company, leads his fellow Marines to their next objective compound. Sickman’s platoon and other Marines belonging to 2nd More
Corporal Michael S. Ussery, a Rochelle, Ga., native and a team leader with 3rd Platoon, scans the adjacent village for insurgent activity. Third Platoon belongs to Echo Company, 2nd Battalion, 4th Marine Regim More
After moving about the area around the southern Musa Qal’eh’s dry riverbed undetected for nearly two weeks, scout snipers with Echo Company sit down to play a time-honored game of spades. Troops have used play More
Marines with Echo Company, 2nd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, patrol a ridgeline running along the southern Musa Qal’eh riverbed as the sun peeks over the horizon in the distance. The Marines with the company More
Petty Officer 3rd Class Casey J. Doyle, a Clatskanie, Ore., native and a field corpsman with 3rd Platoon, takes a knee during a security patrol outside of the village of Regay. Doyle’s platoon belongs to Echo C More
(Left) Corporal Christopher J. Longo, a West Minster, Colo., native and a spotter with Scout Sniper Platoon, Echo Company, cuts up market-fresh potatoes from a local bazaar with Sgt. Nathan K. Euing, a Houston More
Marines with Echo Company, 2nd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, slept in the open during Operation Double Check, an operation to clear several villages along the southern Musa Qal’eh riverbed to establish a secu More
Seaman James L. Louck, a Riverside, Calif., native and a corpsman with Echo Company, tries to keep warm while on midnight radio watch. The Marines and sailors with Echo Company maintain multiple security respo More
Petty Officer 3rd Class Casey J. Doyle, a Clatskanie, Ore., native and a field corpsman with 3rd Platoon, patrols with Marines during the early morning hours just as the sun begins to crest over the mountain ra More
Marines and Afghans sit down to discuss future security measures and the placement of Afghan Uniformed Police security posts over a cup of chai tea. Marines with Echo Company, 2nd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment More
Corporal George W. Casey (center), a 29-year-old squad leader with 3rd Platoon, and his squad hold security as they wait for an incoming CH-53 Sea Stallion helicopter to extract troops from the nearby village o More
A patrolman with the Musa Qal’eh district Afghan Uniformed Police holds security while on a patrol. The patrolmen with the district’s AUP participated in Operation Double Check, in which they cleared a number o More
Marines from the Explosive Ordnance Disposal unit attached to Echo Company, 2nd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, get off their feet before the next patrol. The Marines supported Operation Double Check, patrollin More
Three Marines with 3rd Platoon prepare for a patrol while two others take a load off during Operation Double Check, an ongoing operation to promote legitimate governance and security within the Musa Qal’eh dist More
Patrolmen with the Musa Qal’eh district Afghan Uniformed Police lead a local security patrol shortly after the establishment of their new security post. Once the patrolmen and Marines with Echo Company, 2nd Bat More
Molly, an improvised explosive device-detection dog, keeps Seaman James L. Louck company at a new Afghan Uniformed Police security post in the village of Regay. The Riverside, Calif., native and corpsman with 2 More
An Afghan Uniformed Police security post commander and a patrolman scan the local villages, searching for remaining insurgent fighters who recently engaged AUP patrolmen on the eastern side of the southern Musa More
Lance Cpl. Tyler Knight, a Burlington, Iowa, native and an infantryman with 2nd Platoon, Echo Company, sits in a window while watching a suspected insurgent nearby arrested by the Afghan Uniformed Police. The M More
Lance Cpl. Shane W. Stokes, a Springfield, Mo., native and an infantryman with Echo Company, 2nd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, walks with a new friend he met while patrolling through a local bazaar. A mob of More
Lance Cpl. Kevin Adkins, a Surprise, Ariz., native and infantryman with 2nd Platoon, Echo Company, takes a sip of hot chai tea with a patrolman from the Afghan Uniformed Police. The Marines and Afghans spend a More
Lance Cpl. Adam Ridgeway, a Chicago native and an infantryman with Echo Company, provides security for his fellow Marines as the sun begins to set. Ridgeway and other Marines belonging to 2nd Battalion, 4th Mar More