Afghan girls watch as Lance Cpl. Karl Schmidt, squad automatic weapon gunner, guard force, Headquarters Company, 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, makes his way to set up a vehicle checkpoint near Forward Operating Base Geronimo, Afghanistan, May 30. Schmidt from Morton Grove, Ill., is one of the few grunts in the H&S; guard force, a group of mostly non-infantrymen who perform infantry duties in the H&S; battle space.