Afghan Life On The Front

In this Sept. 29, 1010 photograph, a U.S. Marine from the 2nd Battalion, 9th Marines' Echo Company' Echo Company prepares for a patrol in Marjah, Afghanistan. Since arriving in mid-July, troops from the 2nd Battalion, 9th Marines' Echo Company have spread out across 13 small, spartan outposts in northern Marjah, a vast patch of fields and ancient hardened mud homes without running water or electricity. (AP Photo/Todd Pitman)