Photos

Capt. Tyrone A. Barrion (left), company commander for Bulk Fuel Company, 9th Engineer Support Battalion, 1st Marine Logistics Group (Forward), looks on as 1st Sgt. Keith W. Coombs, 43, from Noble, Okla., company first sergeant for Support Company, 9th ESB, 1st MLG (FWD), uses his optics to check out the terrain over the horizon during a route reconnaissance mission in Helmand province, Afghanistan, Sept. 1. During a route recon mission, Marine engineers dismount from their tactical vehicles and gather any possible information they can find about the path they traveled on to plan better routes for future missions, explained Barrion, 26, from San Diego.