U.S. Marine Lance Cpl. Marcos Castelan, a light armored

U.S. Marine Lance Cpl. Marcos Castelan, a light armored vehicle crewman with Alpha Company, 1st Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, and 19-year-old native of Alvin, Texas, wades through a canal during a patrol here, Feb. 16. Marines and sailors with 1st LAR and India Co., 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, conducted clearing and disrupting operations in and around the villages of Sre Kala and Paygel during Operation Highland Thunder. Marines with 1st LAR led the operation on foot, sweeping for enemy weapons and drug caches through 324 square kilometers of rough, previously unoccupied desert and marshland terrain. Mobile units with1st LAR set up blocking positions and vehicle check points while India Co., 3/3 conducted helicopter inserts to disrupt insurgent freedom of movement.