As Death Toll Rises, Marines Stay Focused in Afghanistan

Obama's and OUR VIETNAM!

HELMAND PROVICE, Afghanistan —  It's the middle of the night at the east corner guard post of Fiddler's Green, a Marine fire base in Afghanistan's Helmand Province, along the border with Pakistan.

Corporal Ryan Joseph Bernal is on perimeter security duty.

Armed with an M-4, night vision binoculars and an array of high-powered automatic weaponry, the 22-year-old U.S. Marine and several others keep watch for activity just outside the concertina wire, which conveys the powerful message “DO NOT ENTER” in a universal language Marines, civilians and the Taliban all understand.

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Behind the sentries are the 3rd Battalion, 11th Marines, out of 29 Palms, California. They are relatively safe, and mostly sleeping.

As the American military's summer offensive into Taliban territory gains strength, the number of U.S. soldiers who have been wounded or killed in action has increased. But just as disturbing for these Marines is a new concern: the recent security breach in the area that led to the kidnapping of an American soldier.  MORE>>>>>>>>>>>