Military Photo Thread [READ FIRST POST BEFORE POSTING]

U.S. Army Sgt. Cullen Wurzer scans a nearby mountain range during a search of the Qual-e Jala village, in Afghanistan, Feb. 21, 2011. Wurzer is assigned to the 34th Infantry Division's 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Squadron, 113th Cavalry Regiment, Task Force Redhorse.

Soldiers with the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment stand pose for a photo before the beginning of the 50-20 celebration. The soldiers were in Kuwait participated in the parade marking the independence from Great Britain and the Desert Storm victory.

Members of the Special Operations Task Group await a resupply amid the rugged mountains of Uruzgan.

Lieutenant Steve Morse, 3rd Platoon Commander, Attack Company, 2-502 Infantry, during a patrol in Zhari district, clse to the birthplace of the Taleban, to escort culverts pipes from Forward Operating Base Howz-e-Madad, on Highway One, to a nearby outpost in Zarif Khel. Dozens of homes near the road have been abandoned and destroyed by the fighting.

USMC

Marine Survives Firefight by 6 Inches
NAWA, Helmand Province, Afghanistan – All Marines endure some risk of serious injury or even death while deployed to combat, but for Lance Cpl. Christopher J. Gray, a few inches and a punctured rifle is all that separated him from a very bad day on the battlefield.

Gray, a 20-year-old rifleman with Bravo Company, 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, and his Marines are no strangers to direct conflicts with insurgents in Nawa's northern area. On May 15 2010, during the final patrol of his deployment, Gray and his seasoned squad were in a firefight near Patrol Base Poole.

The squad was engaged by approximately eight insurgents from two locations with machine guns and AK-47 rifles. The patrol found cover in a nearby irrigation canal during the battle and Gray, who had his M-16A4 up in his shoulder looking through his rifle combat optics at a nearby building, heard the crack of a bullet and felt a sharp pain in his face.

Gray said he heard and felt shock of the bullet's impact, causing him to drop his rifle to his side. When he noticed blood on his face, he notified his patrol leader, but continued to fight.

It was not until the firefight was over and Marines began to return to the patrol base did Gray notice that the bullet had punched a hole right through the base of his RCO's aluminum housing, sending the metal shard into his cheek.

Only six inches separated his right temple from the bullet's impact on his weapon.

Gray said looking back on the events after they happened made him realize just how close he had come to being seriously injured or killed.

"That was my last patrol before going home," said Gray, a native of Warner Robins, Ga., while shaking his head.

Gray's squad has already endured one of their Marines killed in action in January. That Marine is now the namesake of their patrol base. In total, Bravo Company has suffered three of the battalion's five fatalities during the deployment.

"When I first saw what happened to Gray, I thought it was a little too close for comfort," said 1st Lt. Paul C. Trower, 2nd Platoon commander, Bravo Company, 1/3 "When Gray arrived, he was fine, but a little shaken up and had some adrenaline pumping. He was very calm, considering what had happened."

Trower, 25, from Fort Hood, Texas, said as a platoon commander, hearing about engagements and close calls like that makes him hold his breath, but was relieved that all of his Marines came back alright.Date:05.23.2010

A Soldier from Company B, 2nd Battalion, 82nd Combat Aviation Brigade, looks on as one of his fellow crew chiefs qualifies on the M240H machine gun during an aerial gunnery range at the Fort Bragg training grounds Feb. 18 to 20. The Soldiers were attempting to qualify from UH-60M Blackhawk helicopter in preparation for a deployment to Afghanistan later this year.

A U.S. Soldier with the 10th Special Forces Group and his military working dog jump off the ramp of a CH-47 Chinook helicopter from the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment during water training over the Gulf of Mexico March 1, 2011, as part of exercise Emerald Warrior 2011. Emerald Warrior is an annual two-week joint/combined tactical exercise sponsored by U.S. Special Operations Command designed to leverage lessons learned from operations Iraqi and Enduring Freedom to provide trained and ready forces to combatant commanders.

U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Erick Martinez, a military dog handler, carries Argo II over his shoulder on Hill Air Force Base, Utah, March 4, 2011. This training exercise was crucial to build trust, loyalty and teamwork between Martinez and Argo, who had been working together for only two months.

Members of the Naval Operations Group take part in a demonstration during a beach drill inside the Philippine Navy headquarters in Sangley Point, Ternate town, Cavite city March 9, 2011.

Members of Malaysian Special Service Group demonstrate their tactics for a bus hostage rescue operation at the 78th Malaysian Army Day celebration in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Sunday, March 6, 2011.

More Libyan Conflict photos



Libyan rebels advance during a battle with government troops as a facility burns on the frontline on March 9, 2011 near Ras Lanuf, Libya. The rebels pushed back government troops loyal to Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi towards Ben Jawat.





A Libyan rebel fires on a government jet as a natural gas facility burns on the frontline on March 9, 2011


Anti-Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi rebel, fires an anti-aircraft machine gun against pro-Gadhafi warplanes flying overhead, in Ras Lanouf, eastern Libya, on Wednesday March 9, 2011




Anti-Libyan Leader Moammar Gadhafi rebels, prepare to fire rockets during fighting against pro- Gadhafi fighters, in Sidra town, eastern Libya, on Wednesday March 9, 2011.




Libyan rebels attack government troops as a natural gas facility burns on the frontline on March 9, 2011 near Ras Lanuf, Libya. The rebels pushed back government troops loyal to Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi towards Ben Jawat.





Anti-Libyan Leader Moammar Gadhafi rebel, stands behind his anti-aircraft machine gun, as other rebels fire rockets launcher seen in the left, during a fighting against pro-Moammar Gadhafi fighters, in Sedra town, eastern Libya, on Wednesday, March 9, 2011. A high-ranking member of the Libyan military flew to Cairo on Wednesday with a message for Egyptian army officials from Moammar Gadhafi, whose troops pounded opposition forces with artillery barrages and gunfire in at least two major cities. Gadhafi appeared to be keeping up the momentum he has seized in recent days in his fight against rebels trying to move on the capital, Tripoli, from territory they hold in eastern Libya.

Police look at blocks of marijuana seized during a routine operation in the Comuna 6 neighborhood of Medellin, Colombia, Friday Feb. 18, 2011. Police arrested a dozen people during the operation in connection with drug and arms possession.

Afghan commandos along with soldiers from Special Operations Task Force – South prepare to board an MH-47E Chinook en-route to Zharay District, Kandahar province, Afghanistan, in order to conduct clearing operations March 6. The commandos, advised and assisted by SOTF-South service members, along with the Zharay District Chief of Police, Bismullah Jan, discovered 200 pounds of homemade explosives during the operation.

A U.S. Army military information support operations sergeant with Special Operations Task Force - South provides security overwatch during the early morning hours of an operation to hinder insurgent activity in Zharay District, March 6, in Kandahar province, Afghanistan.

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French navy La Fayette-class frigate, FS Guepratte (F714) prepares to come alongside USS Stephen W. Groves (FFG 29) as part of a "leap frog" exercise simulating an underway replenishment during Africa Partnership Station East deployment.

Coast Guard Helicopter Interdiction Tactical Squadron (HITRON)