Brigadier General CARTER HAM: This morning at about 0630 local time in Iraq, a mounted US Marine element operation near Hadithah was attacked by an explosive device.

NPR: 14 from Ohio-Based Marine Battalion Killed in Iraq

"He was spotted, but not caught, " said one Marine familiar with the operation.

CNN: War Stories: 'All we can do is try to stay alive'

Close co-operation in counterterrorism, marine exercises and anti-piracy efforts continues.

ECONOMIST: India abroad

The Marines have been participating in Operation Khanjar -- the Marine-led offensive targeting militants in Helmand.

CNN: Five dead as helicopter crashes in Afghanistan

Longtime Baker watchers have not been surprised at how quickly the former Marine put together Bush's Florida operation.

CNN: Franchise Player

The following decade, Gen Allen started to lead major Marine Corps deployments overseas, including the 1995-6 Operation Joint Endeavor in the Balkans.

BBC: Gen John R. Allen

Such an image is further illuminated in the acclaimed account of Operation Desert Storm, The Generals' War, written by retired Marine General Bernard Trainor and New York Times correspondent Michael Gordon.

CENTERFORSECURITYPOLICY: Center For Security Policy