U.S. Marine Cpl. Dustin Shoemaker, a squad leader with

U.S. Marine Cpl. Dustin Shoemaker, a squad leader with 3rd Platoon, India Company, 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, and 25-year-old native of Ferndale, Wash., walks through a field toward Observation Post Thomas Hill during a security patrol here, April 28, 2012. On the patrol, the Marines gave a battlefield tour of the Safar region to their replacements with Kilo Company, 3rd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment. After arriving in Helmand province's Garmsir district in October 2011, the 'America's Battalion' Marines are nearing the end of their seven-month deployment. During the deployment, they aided Afghan National Security Forces in assuming lead security responsibility of Garmsir, developing and expanding legitimate Afghan governance by defeating insurgent forces and securing the people of Garmsir.