Waiting For a Flight - Marine Cpl. Leonard Yandle entertains fellow Marines with his catwalk. Cpl. Leroy Crawford, 22, sings as Cpl. Dallas Wynn, 22, and Navy Corpsman Craig DeGarmo, 24, play harmonicas as they and Marines of the 11th MEU wait out their final hour in Iraq at Al Asad air base before boarding a C-130 military cargo plane to Kuwait on Wednesday night, February 16, 2005.

Going Home - Marines of the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit board helicopters at FOB Duke, a base near Najaf, Iraq, as they start the first leg of their trip home to Camp Pendleton on Sunday, February 13, 2005. The Marines of the 11th MEU, who have been in Iraq for seven months, are now at Al Asad air base waiting to fly to Kuwait, where they'll eventually board planes bound for California.

Final Days - Marine Capt. Steve Kintzley, 33, from Phoenix, Arizona, rides in the front passenger seat as he and Marines of a Recon group with the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit, drive the streets of Najaf, Iraq, on Friday on one of their final patrols before leaving Iraq and heading home in a few days.

Wrap-Up - Marines of the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit - including Commander of the MEU Col. Tony Haslam - plus Army soldiers and commanders who will soon be taking over the region from the Marines, visit tribal members of a small village south of Najaf, Iraq, on Wednesday, February 9, 2005, for a lunchtime feast of lamb, fish and rice. The dinner, put on by members of the tribe, is in appreciation to the Marines of the 11th MEU for all the work they did to improve their village during the past several months.

Thinking Of Home - Marine Lance Cpl. Roger Bankit, 21, of Mississippi, Lance Cpl. Chris Davis, 23, of Lakeview, Michigan, and Lance Curtis Gladney, of Memphis, Tenn. all of the 1st Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, talk about what they've done in Iraq and what they're going to do when they get home, which will be soon, while at a base near Najaf, Iraq, on Tuesday, February 1, 2005.

Election Eve - Marines with the 1st Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment prepare for Iraqi elections.

Iraqi Soldiers - Iraqi Army soldiers head out into Najaf, which has been shut down to all traffic prior to the Iraqi elections.

Najaf Patrol - Marines go on patrol in Najaf Jan. 29, 2005, prior to the Iraqi elections.

Message Home - Camp Pendleton Marines with the 1st Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, say a few words to people back home at a base near Karbala, Iraq, on January 26, 2005.

Iraqi Woman - Marine Col. Tony Haslam, 49, from Brooklyn, New York, who is the commander of the 11th Marine Expeditionary Force, talks to Iklas Hakak, 25, who lost her right foot and left leg when a shell, fired from an AC-130 gunship, crashed into her home last August, as Haslam visits Hakak at her home in Najaf, Iraq on Friday, January 21, 2005. Hakak was presented with a new wheelchair during the visit. The incident that took Hakak's foot and leg occured during fighting between U.S. Marines and a local militia on August 5, 2004.

Children of Najaf - Iraqi children swarm Marines and cameramen whenever they walk the streets of Najaf, Iraq. Some even try to keep up with a Humvee. And at least one will do so while holding a campaign poster for Iraq's up-coming national election.

Flight To Baghdad - About 40 civilian contractors, members of the media and military personnel take the 1-1/2 hour flight in a military C-130 cargo plane from Kuwait to Baghdad on Sunday, January 16, 2005. For security reasons the pilot has to take the plane into a steep dive causing strong G forces as he lands the plane at the Baghdad airport.