U.S. Marine Lance Cpl. Edward Knudsen, a 25-year-old mortarman with Headquarters Platoon, Weapons Company, 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, and a native of Rapid City, S.D., spends the days of his second deployment to Afghanistan balancing armory custodian logbooks. In his precious down time, he delves into thick college textbooks, refreshing in algebra, trigonometry and calculus and studying for the SAT exam. Knudsen worked through two years of college before joining the Marine Corps in 2008, but admitted he couldn’t muster the discipline to stay devoted. Now, three years later and thousands of miles removed from formal schooling in the U.S., he’s gainfully employing his newly acquired focus. He plans to resume his studies and complete a bachelor degree in mechanical engineering when his active duty service expires in 2014. - U.S. Marine Lance Cpl. Edward Knudsen, a 25-year-old mortarman with Headquarters Platoon, Weapons Company, 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, and a native of Rapid City, S.D., spends the days of his second deployment to Afghanistan balancing armory custodian logbooks. In his precious down time, he delves into thick college textbooks, refreshing in algebra, trigonometry and calculus and studying for the SAT exam. Knudsen worked through two years of college before joining the Marine Corps in 2008, but admitted he couldn’t muster the discipline to stay devoted. Now, three years later and thousands of miles removed from formal schooling in the U.S., he’s gainfully employing his newly acquired focus. He plans to resume his studies and complete a bachelor degree in mechanical engineering when his active duty service expires in 2014.