Teachers in one Afghan school might have a harder time keeping their students under control thanks to the local police.

Staff Sgt. Maribel Valdez, the adjutant with 1st Marine Division (Forward), sits quietly at her desk. She sits straight with dark eyes, her M-9 pistol holstered tight to her uniform, and pictures of her family on the board behind her, showcasing the two different lives she lives. She's a mother and a Marine. A balancing act that's more difficult now that she's deployed. She's thousands of miles from her children and trading the sunny Southern California lifestyle for the heat and dust of Afghanistan.

Navy Petty Officer 3rd Class Matthew Sears is always walking around with a smile as he interacts with the Marines in his unit.

As the early morning sun peeks over the mountains the Nimruz province of Afghanistan, the Marines and sailors with Charlie Company, 1st Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, began an operation in the Gostan Valley.

Navy corpsmen anxiously waited for the blood flowing from Lance Cpl. Meng Lu's arm to fill the bag near his feet.

Marines here are making big moves for the future of Afghanistan.

Afghan soldiers will add a new weapon to their arsenal, when recent graduates from a marksmanship course return to their bases. The newly trained soldiers will carry a M24 sniper rifle, a weapon recently acquired by the local kandak.

Lance Cpl. Taylor Adkins has been a Marine for nearly a year and a half and is already taking advantage of leadership opportunities.

Marines with Golf Company, 2nd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, are leaving the place they've called home for the past two months to head to Camp Leatherneck, the main base of operations for Marines in Helmand province.

It's common in Afghan culture for men to refrain from talking to women they aren't related to.

Marines with Police Advisor Team 2, 2nd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, conducted a partnered patrol with the Afghan National Police, May 2.

The unmistakable sound of gunfire breaks the mid-morning calm. The Afghan instructor paces behind several Afghan National Army soldiers, who are lying in the prone position. The sun is rising to their backs, casting long shadows, stretching before the green targets in front of them.

Leadership is a fundamental part of the Marine Corps. Leaders train new leaders: from a fire team of four, to Marines at the highest levels.

"Shana ba shana" is a Dari saying that Sgt. Christopher Scott has heard since he arrived here in December 2011. The saying translates to shoulder-to-shoulder. Afghan forces say it's a way to describe someone's work ethic and shows the effort they put in with others.

Marines and Afghan National Army leaders stand around the 10-by-10-foot box, marked off with 2-by-4-inch construction wood and rope. The designated area that was nothing more than dirt and rocks the day prior is now a detailed map of roads, formations and geographical obstacles.

Many children beg their parents for a dog. The floppy ears and wagging tail seems to attract children to man's best friend. But many parents know that caring for a dog means a lot of responsibility, training and effort.

The people in Trek Nawa, an area between the Marjah and Nawa district, were witnesses to an unusual sight April 23-26. The Afghan National Army dispatched about 190 soldiers from various tolais within 1st Kandak, 1st Brigade, 215th Corps, to areas throughout the expanding landscape. During this maneuver, Marines with 2nd Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment partnered with the kandak to clear the area during the Afghan-led Operation High Noon 15.

First Lt. Phillip M. Downey has a unique gift from Afghanistan for his soon-to-be-born son at home.

Key commanders of Afghan and Marine forces took a tour of a vital partnered position in Kajaki, April 20.

As Afghan forces take responsibility for more civil and security operations in Kajaki, Marines serving with Weapons Company, 1st Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, are staying connected with the local community.

On a damp and cloudy Kajaki morning, the Marines of 1st Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment Police Advisory Team, drove up a steep mountainside and across a road atop the Kajaki Dam, and to a makeshift rifle range to instruct a marksmanship class for Afghan Uniformed Police officers, April 19.

When a senior Marine refers to one of his devil dogs as the most “Marine” Marine under his charge, a person reaching 5 feet 1 inch and shy of 100 pounds is probably not the visual.

As coalition forces continue to transfer security responsibilities to Afghan National Army and police in Afghanistan, the Marines here continue to patrol to keep the people of Kajaki safe.

Marines describe their relationships with fellow Marines with words like brotherhood and sisterhood. Many view the Corps as a family, with brothers and sisters, mother and father figures. The way Marines take care of each other, look after each other and even bicker with each other is reminiscent of many families in America today.

Deployment means different things to different Marines, but for one lance corporal, it meant leaving his pregnant wife, to help support Marines in a country thousands of miles away. He knew he would miss the birth of his first child and he knew the challenge before him, to be a loving father and a caring husband, from the other side of the world.

A patrol leader with the Afghan Uniformed Police here said his message against growing poppy is reaching farmers. In return, farmers are sealing their compliance with handshakes and understanding.

Sailors with shock trauma platoon, 1st Maintenance Battalion (-) Reinforced, 1st Marine Logistics Group (Forward), provided life-saving care to an Afghan man who was stabbed in the abdomen by a thief, April 6.

As Marine forces in Helmand province shift into an advisory role and the capabilities and responsibilities of Afghan National Security Forces continue to grow, the people of southern Helmand are reaping the benefits.

A medic places the last bandage on an Afghan soldier. He shouts commands to the soldiers next to him, and they respond, gripping the four corners of the stretcher. Together they carry their injured brother to cover behind a truck.

The men and women who have earned the title of Marine share a unique history and tradition only found in the Corps. In some cases, this history and tradition is shared by generations of Marines from the same family.

Petty Officer Third Class Chase Speed still has the blood-soaked belt he was wearing when an insurgent put a bullet through it last year.

The tent looks like all the others around here: tan canvas, zipper doors and Velcro all around. Marines pass by without giving it a second glance, heading to work, the gym or guard duty.

Afghan National Army soldiers with 2nd Brigade, 215th Corps graduated a course designed to combat the threat of insurgent-placed improvised explosive devices, April 5.

A day in the life of Cpl. Patrick Wantuch, who drives a forklift in support of 1st Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment. He is the only forklift operator on base and is in high demand.

Establishing a strong relationship with the local population is critical to any successful counterinsurgency operation.

Sgt. Gregory Phipps, sergeant of the guard for Headquarters and Service Company Guard Forces, 2nd Battalion, 9th Marine Regiment, speaks a few words into his radio. Less than two minutes later, a group of Marines in full combat gear are standing outside his office prepared to respond to any threat to their camp.