Photos

In an effort to smooth out a pot hole that was recently filled, Sgt. Shawn Peterson, a 27-year-old native of Missoula, Mont., shovels dirt during a route repair mission May 25, 2006. The threat of improvised explosive devices is one of the main reasons the Marines conduct route repairs. Not only are they a hazard to military convoys, but the craters created when an IED explodes provides insurgents with a hiding spot to place future devices. The roads Charlie Company, commonly referred to as ?Hell-Bent Charlie? and part of Combat Logistics Battalion 5 based at Camp Fallujah, work on are often traveled by Iraqi citizens, but are also used by American service members and Iraqi Security Forces.