U.S. Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Justin Downing, a mortar man with 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, scans his area while on patrol during Exercise Clear, Hold, Build 3 at Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms, Calif., Sept. 21, 2011.
The two-day evolution was part of the Enhanced Mojave Viper training exercise, which enabled the Battalion to improve its capabilities as the ground combat element of a Marine Air-Ground Task Force. The exercise was the final pre-deployment training event before deploying to Afghanistan Helmand province to support Operation Enduring Freedom. (DoD photo by Cpl. Reece Lodder, U.S. Marine Corps) Original public domain image from Flickr