COMBAT OUTPOST RANKEL, Helmand province, Afghanistan

COMBAT OUTPOST RANKEL, Helmand province, Afghanistan — Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Timothy Walsh stands at attention before being awarded the Purple Heart here, July 28. Walsh, a native of Weymouth, Mass., is the senior line corpsman for Charlie Company, 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment. Walsh was awarded for wounds received during his deployment to Helmand province in 2010.
“It represents my deployment last year,” said Walsh. “All my accomplishments, all the good times and the bad times. I am honored to be awarded; to me, I wasn’t badly hurt. One of my best friends isn’t around anymore, so I view this as a way I can represent his sacrifice.”
Walsh honors his friend, Navy Seaman Marc Bretmier, a corpsman who died while deployed to Afghanistan in 2008.
The battalion is currently assigned to Regimental Combat Team 1, 2nd Marine Division (Forward), which heads Task Force Leatherneck. The task force serves as the ground combat element of Regional Command (Southwest) and works in partnership with the Afghan National Security Forces and the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan to conduct counterinsurgency operations. The unit is dedicated to securing the Afghan people, defeating insurgent forces, and enabling ANSF assumption of security responsibilities within its area of operations in order to support the expansion of stability, development and legitimate governance.