It's the brainchild of a Camp Pendleton Marine who grew up in Georgia and is now stationed in the extremely dangerous Sangin district of Helmand province, Afghanistan.
First Lt. Paul Herdener is a heavy weapons platoon commander with the Pendleton-based 1st Battalion, 5th Marines. According to the Marine Corps Times, Herdener and his fellow Marines have started using shaving cream to mark areas with improvised explosive devices (IEDs) so other troops can avoid them.
General "Stormin' Norman" Schwarzkopf first came up with the idea when he was a Lt. Colonel in Vietnam to help out when his soldiers became trapped in a minefield:
Now Herdener's father has kicked off a campaign of his own back in Georgia to help his son and the 1/5. He started "Operation Shaving Cream," where folks who visit grocery stores in Northeast Georgia can help donate shaving cream to the 1/5. You can, too, by clicking here.
