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Taking Heat in Afghanistan

• AP
• AP
• AP
• AP
• USMC
• Reuters
• Navy Lt. David Hecht

• July 8: U.S. Marines from the 2nd MEB, 1st Battalion 5th Marines run out to assist after a helicopter dropped an emergency water resupply outside a compound where they stayed for the night, in the Nawa district of Afghanistan's Helmand Province.
• July 6: Medics attached to the U.S. Marines from the 2nd MEB, 1st Battalion 5th Marines carry a Marine, who was overcome by heat exhaustion, to a medical evacuation helicopter in the Nawa district of Afghanistan's Helmand Province. Heat exhaustion casualties are on the rise, troops say.
• July 4: Marine Cpl. Brian Knight pauses briefly in the heat to rest with his heavy pack filled with mortar equipment, ammunition, food, and water in the Nawa district in Afghanistan's Helmand Province. Heat exhaustion casualties are on the rise, troops say.
• July 7: A Marine from the 2nd MEB, 1st Battalion 5th Marines jumps over a stream as he patrols in the Nawa district of Afghanistan's Helmand Province. Marines are now equipped with Flame Resistant Organizational Gear (FROG) that protects them from blasts but dries more quickly than before.
• A Marine gunnery sergeant displays Flame-Resistant Organizational Gear (FROG), which protects Marines from burns in IED blasts, keeps them warm in cold climates and wicks away moisture and sweat to help Marines patrolling in 120 degree heat.
• July 9: A U.S. military MRAP vehicle (Mine Resistant Ambush Protected) stands at a checkpoint as an Afgham family and their donkeys walk past on a road in the mountains of Wardak Province in Afghanistan. The mammoth vehicles protect troops from IEDs and other blasts, but are unwieldy in Afghanistan's mountainous terrain. Marines say they are desperately short on MRAPS and spare parts for damaged vehicles.
• Three engineers from Combat Logistics Battalion Eight at work in Helmand Province, Afghanistan. Marine engineers use enormous resources retrieving heavy vehicles from the country's soft soil.