A rare breed

In the days leading up to this operation, the Marines at this Forward Operating Base have plenty of preparations to make, not to mention the never ending cleaning of weapons thanks to the constantly blowing moon dust. It’s exhausting work made even more difficult by the 120 degree temperature.

When the day is done, most people would find an air conditioned tent and chill out for the night, but not the U.S. Marines. On D-Day minus 1, when the sun was starting to go down and the air had cooled off to a chilly 119 degrees, a handful of Marines put on their body armor, picked up their weapons and went for a three mile, “fun run.” After that, they formed a circle and took turns beating the crap out of each other in the moon dust, calling it hand to hand combat training.

With the sweat pouring off their bodies and their faces and uniforms coated in moon dust, for the first time ever I saw Marines smiling. They were in their element; hot, nasty and fresh from a fight. This is where Marines belong.