CAMP DWYER, Afghanistan (AFP) — In the cool of an Afghan desert just before daybreak, 300 US Marines rustled in sleeping bags beside a helicopter 
pad as the wake-up orders were whispered from man to man.Dawn broke over Camp Dwyer in southern Afghanistan, and Fox and Echo company of the 2/8 Infantry Battalion were quickly up and ready for the biggest Marine operation since the second battle of Fallujah in Iraq in 2004.Loaded up with backpacks, rifles and water, the men lined up to board grey CH-53 helicopters taking them behind enemy lines in Taliban-held territory of the Helmand River valley.A few hugged each other, but the atmosphere was business-like and restrained. Men fussed and patted a couple of Labradors that would be used to sniff out explosives.As the first of the helicopters took off, billowing dust into the low sun, Brigadier General Larry Nicholson, commander of Operation Khanjar -- which means a double-edged dagger in Dari and Pashtu -- arrived to wish his men well.Shaking hands and chewing gum, he looked focused but relaxed."I've been flying all night from place to place," he told AFP. "I've got staff back at the base that allow me to move around. Anyone in my position now just hopes they have made all the right decisions."1/5 (Infantry Battalion) went into Nawa cleanly and quietly this morning. So far, we have picked the right spots to go into."The eight helicopters involved in the lift from Camp Dwyer -- just one small part of the overall operation -- kept their rotor blades churning as they waited on the tarmac.With a simple hand wave, each line of men was given the "go" signal and walked briskly to the choppers and through the back doors. Within minutes, they had disappeared into the desert haze.
pad as the wake-up orders were whispered from man to man.Dawn broke over Camp Dwyer in southern Afghanistan, and Fox and Echo company of the 2/8 Infantry Battalion were quickly up and ready for the biggest Marine operation since the second battle of Fallujah in Iraq in 2004.Loaded up with backpacks, rifles and water, the men lined up to board grey CH-53 helicopters taking them behind enemy lines in Taliban-held territory of the Helmand River valley.A few hugged each other, but the atmosphere was business-like and restrained. Men fussed and patted a couple of Labradors that would be used to sniff out explosives.As the first of the helicopters took off, billowing dust into the low sun, Brigadier General Larry Nicholson, commander of Operation Khanjar -- which means a double-edged dagger in Dari and Pashtu -- arrived to wish his men well.Shaking hands and chewing gum, he looked focused but relaxed."I've been flying all night from place to place," he told AFP. "I've got staff back at the base that allow me to move around. Anyone in my position now just hopes they have made all the right decisions."1/5 (Infantry Battalion) went into Nawa cleanly and quietly this morning. So far, we have picked the right spots to go into."The eight helicopters involved in the lift from Camp Dwyer -- just one small part of the overall operation -- kept their rotor blades churning as they waited on the tarmac.With a simple hand wave, each line of men was given the "go" signal and walked briskly to the choppers and through the back doors. Within minutes, they had disappeared into the desert haze.for further details visit as :www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5iXT8JxrlENUN1nnJaoeh8As2E7tw
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