Marines from 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, Regimental Combat Team 3, Marine Expeditionary Brigade-Afghanistan, prepare to board a UH-60L Black Hawk helicopter, July 2, during the launching of Operation Khanjar. Marines and Afghan soldiers and police launched a major operation in central Helmand province today as forces from MEB-Afghanistan and Afghan national security forces moved into towns and villages along the Helmand River valley in an effort to secure the local population from the threat of Taliban and other insurgent intimidation and violence.