Photos

Lance Cpl. Juan F. Montellano, a 21-year-old native of Tucson, Ariz., measures and marks a piece of sheet metal which will later be welded to repair parts from a Humvee engine, while Lance Cpl. Adam L. Schroeder, a 20-year-old Plattville, Wis., native, carries sheet metal Dec. 23, 2004, at Camp Fallujah, Iraq. Both Marines are welders at Combat Service Support Company 122, which is currently deployed in support of Operations Iraqi Freedom. CSSC-122?s welders ? six Marines in all ? worked around the clock to weld armor on more than 115 military vehicles used for convoys and patrols during the height of Fallujah combat operations. Using both pre-fabricated kits of armor and scrap metal from inoperable vehicles, these Marines have welded extra armor onto doors, back panels, gun mounts, and undersides of everything from trucks to bulldozers to help protect Marines operating inside the ?City of Mosques.?