May God bless and protect them.

The village of Shabaz Kheyl is seen through a scope at left on a machine gun as U.S. Marine Lance Cpl. Larry Alqueza, 23, of El Paso, Texas, with the 2nd Battalion 12th Marines based in Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii, looks through binoculars for insurgent movement from a mountain top outpost called the Shrine Saturday, July 30, 2011 in Kajaki, Helmand province, Afghanistan. (AP Photo/David Goldman)

A US Army CH-47 Chinook helicopter lands at a forward base in Arghandab district while transporting troops around southern Afghanistan on July 29, 2011. All foreign combat forces are due to leave Afghanistan by the end of 2014 and last week a first set of security handovers from NATO to Afghan forces took place in seven parts of the country. (AFP PHOTO / ROMEO GACAD)

An Afghan National Army soldier along with U.S soldiers carry a wounded U.S soldier following an attack to a medevac helicopter from the U.S. Army’s Task Force Lift “Dust Off”, Charlie Company 1-52 on the outskirts of Kandahar, Afghanistan, Saturday, July 30, 2011. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)

A US soldier mans a machine gun on a US Army helicopter as it heads to Kandahar military base while transporting troops in southern Afghanistan on July 29, 2011. All foreign combat forces are due to leave Afghanistan by the end of 2014 and last week a first set of security handovers from NATO to Afghan forces took place in seven parts of the country. (AFP PHOTO / ROMEO GACAD)

US soldiers arrive in Arghandab district forward base on a US Army helicopter while transporting troops in southern Afghanistan on July 29, 2011. All foreign combat forces are due to leave Afghanistan by the end of 2014 and last week a first set of security handovers from NATO to Afghan forces took place in seven parts of the country. (AFP PHOTO / ROMEO GACAD)

Sgt. Jesse Hooker, a native of Shreveport, La., and a UH-60L Black Hawk helicopter crew chief of Company B, Task Force Attack, 1st Air Cavalry Brigade, attached to 10th Combat Aviation Brigade, 10th Mountain Division, directs soldiers where to sit as they load up on a Black Hawk in order to get a flight from Forward Operating Base Waza Khwa to FOB Sharana July 20.

Sgt. Jesse Hooker, a native of Shreveport, La., and a UH-60L Black Hawk helicopter crew chief of Company B, Task Force Attack, 1st Air Cavalry Brigade, attached to 10th Combat Aviation Brigade, 10th Mountain Division, scans the ground below him while he mans a M240B Machine Gun in order to provide security while passengers are transported via black hawk in east Afghanistan July 20.

U.S. Army Spc. Brian Coelho, rifleman, scans his sector of fire during a key leader engagement at the district center, a secured location, in Arghandab, Afghanistan, July 26, 2011. Members of Provincial Reconstruction Team Zabul meet with leaders of the government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan and village elders frequently to solve security issues around the province. PRT Zabul’s mission is to conduct civil-military operations in Zabul province to extend the reach and legitimacy of the government of Afghanistan.

U.S. Army Spc. Jacob Labo, rifleman, scans his sector of fire during a key leader engagement at the district center, a secured location, in Arghandab, Afghanistan, July 26, 2011. Members of Provincial Reconstruction Team Zabul meet with leaders of the government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan and village elders frequently to solve security issues around the province. PRT Zabul’s mission is to conduct civil-military operations in Zabul province to extend the reach and legitimacy of the government of Afghanistan.

Two UH-60L Black Hawk helicopters from Company B, Task Force Attack, 1st Air Cavalry Brigade, attached to 10th Combat Aviation Brigade, 10th Mountain Division, pop flares while flying over Afghanistan to transport personnel July 20, 2011. Flares are deployed from the aircraft as a safety measure in order to confuse possible incoming enemy fire.