R.M.Allnutt - Marines - Quantico 2003 (IMG

Delta Company, 4th LAR of the US Marine Corps was gearing up for deployment to the pending war in Iraq during February 2003. I had been following this group of Marine Reservists for two years, recording their various exercises, and training regimes. It was very hard to watch them train for real this time, as I had got to know several of them quite well. The company was based around the LAV, or Light Armored Reconnaisance Vehicle, with several different variants making up their complement. This particular LAV was the standard infantry vehicle, with a 25mm main gun, and fifty caliber automatic weapon, as well as grenade launchers, and room for up to eight marines in the body. They were conducting gunnery practice on one of the ranges at Quantico. It took several dozen attempts to get this image; anticipating when the canon would fire, without jumping (with surprise) and blurring the image when it actually did! Delta Coy. deplayed to Iraq in March 2003, and all of them returned that September, although with a major injurry sustained by one marine caught by a rocket propelled grenade. He survived, and recovered well, but will probably never walk again. I was relieved that they all made it home of course, though deeply upset that they had to go in the first place. The unit more or less disbanded after they returned, and I am uncertain where most of them are now. Some surely have returned to Iraq. The former commanding officer is there again as of this writing (Apr. 2005), been wounded once already by an IED, and I fear greatly for his safety.