Local children look on as Gunnery Sgt. Carlos Aguilera, the platoon sergeant of Blue Platoon, Echo Company, 1st Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion and 31-year-old native of Los Angeles, greets an elder during a dismounted patrol here, April 26, 2012. Since arriving in southern Helmand province in October 2011, Echo Co. has been charged with conducting counterinsurgency operations throughout Khan Neshin district, to include vehicle checkpoints, dismounted patrols and targeted interdiction operations.