Charlie Battery, 1st Battalion, 12th Marine Regiment, test the Expeditionary Fire Support System M327 120mm mortar at Pohakuloa Training Area, Aug. 23. The battery was selected to train on the new mortar system for the Marine Corps. [Photo taken by Navy Lt. Lt. Joshua R. Lebenson | 1st Battalion, 12th Marine Regiment]

2010 4th LAR AFG

Raw video footage, taken by writer / still photographer Ed Darack, of riding on a Marine Corps LAV-25 (a Light Armored Vehicle) of 4th Light Armored Reconnaissance (4th LAR) over roadless terrain of southern Helmand Province of Afghanistan. We're going from one COP (combat outpost) to another. A little narration by Lieutenant Colonel Rick Crevier, the battalion executive officer of 4th LAR.

Lance Cpl. Joseph R. Hauer,LAR,AA Co.

Lance Cpl. Joseph R. Hauer clears a smoke-filled room during live-fire grenade training at Camp Hansen Sept. 14. Hauer is a light armored vehicle crewman with the light armed reconnaissance platoon assigned to Assault Amphibious Vehicle Company, photo by Lance Cpl. Jose D. Lujano

Lance Cpl. Marcus A. Blanchard & Lance Cpl. Jorge Martinez

 Lance Cpl. Marcus A. Blanchard, left, shows Lance Cpl. Jorge Martinez, the grenade before throwing  into a room during live-fire grenade training at Camp Hansen, Okinawa, Sept. 14, 2012.  Marines are trained to show the live grenade to other team members to ensure safety during room-clearing drills. These Marines are light armored vehicle crewmen with an,  LAR, light armed reconnaissance platoon,  assigned to Assault Amphibious Vehicle Company, Combat Assault Battalion, 3rd Marine Division, III Marine Expeditionary Force. (photo by Lance Cpl. Jose D. Lujano

 3rd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion struck a key insurgent illicit trafficking hub along the Helmand-Pakistan border March 14-17. The attack marked the opening of Operation Rawhide II, an effort to stem the flow of narcotics, weapons, and fighters in to, out of, and around southern Afghanistan. Produced by Sgt. Jeremy Ross. 

SILVER STAR: STAFF SGT. ALEC HARALOVICH

For  gallantry in action, SSGT. Haralovich was presented the Silver Star Medal, the nation’s third highest award for combat heroism, by Maj. Gen. James M. Lariviere, the 4th Marine Division Commanding General at Camp Atterbury in Indiana Aug. 26, 2012 (PHOTO/story credit)  Sgt. Ray Lewis

CAMP ATTERBURY, Ind. - “I thought I was going to die,” Staff Sgt. Alec Haralovich  as he lay on his back in Afghanistan, 

On Oct. 4, Taliban fighters ambushed his patrol of dismounted Marines with automatic gunfire. The enemy’s aim was accurate. Two bullets had struck his body armor with such force that he was knocked backward into the dirt.   “I thought I was going to die,”:Staff Sgt. Alec Haralovich  as he lay on his back in Afghanistan.

Haralovich had seen all the signs. It was quiet as they patrolled Ghorah, a village that was usually filled with people. 

“As we were pushing through we were all feeling confident like we were going to get a drop on these guys,” thought Haralovich, who is from Bloomington, Ind. “They’re not going to have anywhere to run to.” 

He was wrong. The insurgents set up a complex ambush that lured his Marines into a death trap. 

Haralovich didn’t let his fears get the best of him though. He had survived two other combat deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan. A reconnaissance Marine who knows how to treat his own wounds, Haralovich applied pressure to his side while he checked for bleeding.

There was no blood. 

“I was really angry,” he recalled. “I was angry because it basically was like they had duped us, they had out maneuvered us, outsmarted us.”

Haralovich’s combat medic, Cpl. Matthew Chen, bounded forward to treat Haralovich who he thought was critically wounded. However, Haralovich was only shot in his armor, so he yelled at Chen to get back.

As Chen was returning, he was wounded in the leg, with a minor grazing wound from an enemy bullet.

“That’s when I was like, time for the rocket shot,” he said. “It’s time to end this now.”

He yelled for a Marine to bring him the M72 Light Anti-Tank Weapon, a rocket launcher that can disable a tank. He knew this weapon well. He trained extensively with it on active duty before he became a reconnaissance Marine in the Reserves.

Haralovich and his team bounded forward through an open field toward the enemy, while two of his Marines were sending rounds steadily to the enemy. Haralovich armed his rocket launcher. He knew he had to hurry because those two Marines were laying prone, shooting with less than one foot of cover.

“Running out with a prepped LAW on your shoulder, you’re definitely a target, I realized like halfway into the field,” Haralovich remembered. “I had to basically hurry up, take the shot.”

Haralovich fired. The explosion blew up the enemy stronghold and caused all of the attackers to cease fire and retreat. But Haralovich and the Marines weren’t finished. He wasn’t just going to let insurgents attack them.

Haralovich tried to communicate with the other element but he couldn’t. One of the rounds that struck his armor also ruined his radio. 

He had to go back and link up to get a face-to-face with his other patrol element. Then both elements patrolled forward as a bigger, stronger unit.

“We knew there was a command and control element that was well known within the region that was near this mosque so we pushed to the north,” Haralovich said. “We pushed toward that area, ran into a couple more fighters. They were surprised to see us and then they took off.”

With the insurgents nowhere to be seen, Haralovich gathered his men and headed back to the patrol base. His company commander, Capt. Jonathan Joseph, said he had to convince him to rest after he had returned.

For his gallantry in action, Haralovich was presented the Silver Star Medal, the nation’s third highest award for combat heroism, by Maj. Gen. James M. Lariviere, the 4th Marine Division Commanding General at Camp Atterbury in Indiana Aug. 26. 

More than 100 Marines, sailors, soldiers, family and friends attended the event at the training base. This was the same place where his grandfather, an Army veteran, was stationed before serving in D-Day in 1944. So it was also a historical occasion for Haralovich and his immediate and extended family members who attended the ceremony.

“I’d have to say that he’s made me extremely proud,” said Peter Haralovich, Alec’s uncle. “We followed his three tours in Iraq and Afghanistan and communicated with him regularly by satellite phone and email. We’ve experienced the stress that any family experiences. And of course we’re relieved that he’s healthy and in one piece and looking forward to the rest of his career in the United States military.”





Read more: http://www.dvidshub.net/news/94748/indiana-marines-rocket-assault-earns-silver-star#.UFcPXULhCow#ixzz26jBZOxAd

Marines with Bravo Company, Battalion Landing Team 1st Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit, take part in assault climber training in Djibouti, Aug. 29, 2012. The day consisted of a rotation among several stations including knot-tying, one-rope bridge maneuver, ground rappelling, and rappels down both a tower and 150 foot cliff-face. The training was part of a three-week long Training Force, or T-Force package focused on primitive infantry skills. The 24thMEU is deployed with the Iwo Jima Amphibious Ready Group as a theater reserve and crisis response force. (U.S. Marine Corps motion imagery by Cpl. Michael Petersheim; produced by 2nd Lt. Joshua W. Larson)

Marines with the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit's Light Armored Reconnaissance platoon, Battalion Landing Team 1st Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, take part in a bilateral training raid with French Marines in Djibouti, Aug. 27, 2012. A small contingent of the 24th MEU is currently ashore in Djibouti conducting various unilateral, bilateral and joint exercises. The 24th MEU is deployed with the Iwo Jima Amphibious Ready Group as a theater reserve and crisis response force for U.S. Central Command and U.S. 5th Fleet area of responsibility. U.S. Marine Corps motion imagery by Cpl. Michael Petersheim.

US Ambassador Killed 9/11/2012

Palestinians celebrating the fall of the twin towers on 911

People Falling

2nd Plane

First Plane 9/11/01

Alpha Company, 1st Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion on a dismounted patrol through Sre Kala to seriously mess with enemy turf and search for their  weapons caches in  Khan-Neshin district. Produced by Cpl Alfred Lopez.

LAR Platoon in Djibouti on the Horn Of Africa-Training with the French

LAR Marines with the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit's Light Armored Reconnaissance platoon, BLT 1st Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment,  move toward their objective during a bilateral training raid with French Marines in Djibouti, Aug. 27, 2012. 

Read more: http://www.dvidshub.net/image/657965/us-french-marines-partner-light-armored-reconnaissance-training-djibouti#.UEiFhkLhCow#ixzz25ghQ3mdl

The Horn of Africa aka North east Africa aka Somali Peninsula

Lance Cpl. Derek Gaffett 3rd LAR

Lance Cpl. Derek Gaffett, Monona, Iowa, working on an alternator in a mine-resistant, ambush-protected vehicle,
July 14, 2012, at Forward Operating Base Payne, Afghanistan. photo credit Cpl Ed Galo

Read more: http://www.dvidshub.net/image/625603/maintenance-marines-keep-base-running#.UEc_zkLhCox#ixzz25b2FQbFh

Final FarewellCpl. Roberto Cazarez and Lance Cpl. Ramon Kaipat, First LAR

A First LAR rifle detail fires  the final farewell ceremonial gun salute to honor their fallen comrades in  a memorial ceremony at Camp Pendleton, July 19, 2012.  The ceremony was held to honor Cpl. Roberto Cazarez and Lance Cpl. Ramon Kaipat,  Marines of 1st Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion who lost their lives during the 2011 deployment to Khan Neshin, Afghanistan.  Cpl. Roberto Cazarez,  was from Angostura, Mexico, and Lance Cpl. Ramon T. Kaipat,  from the Northern Mariana Islands.

Read more: http://www.dvidshub.net/news/91862/1st-lar-bids-final-farewell-fallen-marines#.UEXosELhCow#ixzz25V5ixtc8photo credit LCpl. Tyler Reiriz

Corporal Nicholas Fredrick Three LAR Khan Neshin

Cpl. Nicholas Fredrick, Out Post Castle Chef, aka USMC food specialist, Three LAR,
July 26 2012  Combat Outpost Castle, Khan Neshin, Afghanistan.  One chef.  300 Marines.  Mission statement: "Open early-close late.  Keep Marines full and happy."
photo credit  Cpl. Ed Galo