You voted, and this week’s Top Corps Shot comes from Cpl. Alfred Lopez. Lopez was patrolling with 1st Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion and 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment. This was Lopez’s first patrol through the canals, and the difficulty of traversing the terrain stood out to him. In fact, on the next patrol, he slipped and went under water, breaking his camera in the process. “I wanted to be able to share that experience with everyone who reads my stories,” said Lopez. “It shows the viewer what kind of terrain and what kind of conditions these war fighters have to live through.”

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Lance Cpl. Brandon Mann, a dog handler with Alpha Company, 1st Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, and native of Arlington, Texas, helps Sgt. Guillermo Floresmartines, an assistant squad leader with Alpha Co., 1st LAR, and 25-year-old native of Menifee, Calif., out of a canal during a patrol, 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.