May God bless and protect them. Note: All pics taken between July 17th – August 14th.

A U.S. Marine Corps M1A1 Abrams tank finishes refueling at Combat Outpost Shir Ghazi, Helmand province, Afghanistan, July 27. The M1A1 Abrams is the main battle tank in use by the U.S. Marine Corps. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Samuel J. Nieves)

U.S. Army Spc. Lawrence Lopez provides security during a patrol through Khushki Danda in Afghanistan’s Khost province, July 29, 2012. Lopez is assigned to the 25th Infantry Division’s Company D, 1st Battalion, 501st Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Kimberly Trumbull.

U.S. Army Spc. Jordan Duffy, a forward observer assigned to 1st Platoon, Apache Company, Team Apache, 1st Battalion (Airborne), 501st Infantry Regiment, Task Force 4-25, provides security from the top of a hill in Black Rock, Khowst province, Afghanistan, July 31, 2012. Team Apache conducted the patrol to investigate a previous attack to Combat Outpost Bak.

Members of Kandahar Provincial Reconstruction Team depart to conduct an equipment survey of a Department of Public Works facility Aug. 8 in Afghanistan. U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Timothy Chacon

Sgt. Brain Reid, Alaska National Guard, talks with a local Afghan child during a dismounted patrol to a Department of Public Works facility Aug. 8, 2012, in Kandahar, Afghanistan.

Pfc. John Casey, a military dog handler assigned to the 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, and native of Wash., gets ready to run his partner, Roxy, through a training lane on Forward Operating Base Sharana.( August 13, 2012)

Completing 60 years of service, Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron 362, known as the ‘Ugly Angels,’ completed a memorial flight over Helmand province, Afghanistan. The squadron was created in 1952 and holds the distinction of being the first Marine helicopter squadron to arrive in country during the Vietnam War. (August 13, 2012)