Second Lt. Adam Staff, a platoon commander with Kilo

Second Lt. Adam Staff, a platoon commander with Kilo Company, 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, communicates with his Marines during a platoon attack at Range 410A on Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms, Calif., Aug. 8, 2011. The platoon-level attacks were part of the battalion's 35-day Enhanced Mojave Viper training exercise. During EMV, the Marines of 'America's Battalion' are training to kill enemy fighters by polishing infantry skills and practicing counterinsurgency operations. They are preparing for a fall deployment to Afghanistan's Helmand province in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. Staff, 30, is from Walton, Ky.