Boots on the ground before morning light: 3/3 Marines prepare for Mojave Viper exercise in California

Mortarmen with Weapons Company, 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, trek down the Kaneohe Bay Range Training Facility road during a 12-mile battalion conditioning hike on Marine Corps Base Hawaii, Aug. 11, 2011. Following predeployment training here and on the island of Hawaii, the battalion is preparing for the Mojave Viper exercise at Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms, Calif., at the end of August. The month long training event will be their final evaluation before deploying to Afghanistan's Helmand province in support of Operation Enduring Freedom this fall.