A Light Armored Vehicle cruises past a small town during route and area reconnaissance operations Nov. 12. Rivers, cities, roads and obstructions were just a few of the things Marines of Company D, 1st Light Armored Reconnaissance, 1st Marine Division, scouted and reported back to headquarters in the first week of operations in the Nineweh province. Although the Marines replaced an Army unit and could very well have gathered recon secondhand, they opted to see for themselves. Small groups of LAR Marines live and operate out in the country, off of and far away from the supply base. Being such an island, it’s important to identify routes of resupply, not to mention possible insurgent resupply routes. Information isn’t always perfect or all inclusive. Some intelligence may only clue leaders in to an enemy movement, but not the size of the force or the particular type of unit. Knowing the terrain enables commanders to put themselves in an advantageous position prior to making contact with an enemy of unknown size or capability. The Marines of Company D, 1st LAR, make up one element of the first Marine Air Ground Task Force outside Anbar in Iraq since 2004. They traveled to the Nineweh province to kick off Operation Defeat Al Qaeda in the North II, an operation aimed at stamping out the insurgency just west of the restive city of Mosul.