Grunt Helmand: Photos from Afghanistan

Whether they were bangin' in Sangin or dredging up bombs in Garmsir, the Helmand Marines had a reputation for enduring the worst conditions and still slaying bodies day in and day out.A Marine grunt in Helmand Province, Afghanistan dealt with improvised explosive devices, coordinated Taliban attacks, intense heat and stifiling humidity. They jumped canals, dug up IED's with knives and swept the ground endlessly with metal detectors.They faced intense combat for years. Places like Sangin, Marjah, and Musa Qala and more saw some of the bloodiest fighting of the Afghanistan war.

They fought and won without the high-tech gear of special operations troops. They did it with bulky equipment, minimal resources, and limited resupplies.Today we celebrate the Marine grunt: that special creature who can endure any hardship, go any distance, and fight until his last breath.[caption id="attachment_8232" align="aligncenter" width="1000"]

A machine gunner with 1st Battlion, 3rd Marines watches an IED explode in Garmsir District, 2011. Source: DVIDS[/caption][caption id="attachment_8229" align="aligncenter" width="1000"]

Marines with Dark Horse, 3rd Battalion, 5th Marines conduct a security patrol in Sangin District in 2010. Source: DVIDS[/caption][caption id="attachment_8239" align="aligncenter" width="1000"]

Marines from 1st Battalion, 3rd Marines set up on a rooftop outside of Marjah, Afghanistan, in February 2010. Source: DVIDS[/caption][caption id="attachment_8235" align="aligncenter" width="1024"]

Marines with 1st Battalion, 3rd Marines fire a .50 caliber machine gun on a dismounted foot patrol outside of Marjah, Afghanistan, in February 2010. Photo by Patrick Baz, AFP[/caption][caption id="attachment_8237" align="aligncenter" width="720"]

1st Battalion 3rd Marines K9 handler in Garmsir, Afghanistan finds an improvised explosive device inside a stack of poppy stalks. Source: DVIDS/Colby Brown.[/caption][caption id="attachment_8240" align="aligncenter" width="550"]

Marines with 1st Battalion, 2nd Marines patrol the streets of Karamanda in Musa Qala, Afghanistan in 2010. Source: Long War Journal[/caption][caption id="attachment_8241" align="aligncenter" width="660"]

Marine with "Dark Horse" 3rd Battalion, 5th Marines shoots a SMAW rocket in Sangin District, Helmand Province in 2010. Source: Wired Magazine[/caption][caption id="attachment_8244" align="aligncenter" width="1000"]

A mortarman with 1st Battalion, 6th Marines in Marjah gets ready to embrace the suck and get in the freezing cold water during operation Moshtarak, 2010. Source: DVIDS[/caption][caption id="attachment_8227" align="aligncenter" width="1000"]

Designated marksman with 3rd Battalion, 5th Marines in Sangin, Afghanistan, providing guardian angel overwatch during a patrol in 2010. Source: DVIDS.[/caption][caption id="attachment_8247" align="aligncenter" width="1024"]

A machine gunner with 1st Battaion, 3rd Marines, near Marjah, 2010. Source: Patrick Baz, AFP[/caption]