U.S. Marine Corps Lt. Col. William McCollough, commander of the 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, talks to the district administrator (2nd from left) and a town elder (2nd from right) in the Nawa district of Afghanistan's Helmand province on Aug. 16, 2009. The 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment is deployed with Regimental Combat Team 3 to conduct counter insurgency operations in partnership with Afghan National Security Forces in southern Afghanistan.