From the Ground in Afghanistan
Griffie
SPC William Griffie of the 2nd Striker Calvalry Regiment Fire Squadron 1st Platoon prepares to dismount from a mine-resistant vehicle in Zabol Province on Thursday, December 9, 2010. An uptick in explosions in the area north of Qalat has kept 1st Platoon on constant patrol.
Rear View
SPC Griffie's view of Zabol province from the back of a mine-resistant vehicle on Monday, December 6. 2010. His job is to dismount from the vehicle to check for mines in the road ahead. If Griffie gets blown up, the rest of his convoy knows the road's security has been compromised.
Kuchine
Kuchine refugees at Darulaman Palace in Kabul gather to drink tea and discuss survival through the winter on Sunday, October 24, 2010. Local officials placed over 100 men, women and children belonging to the nomadic group at the abandoned palace after land disputes with Hazara groups turned violent in June. The crumbling structure offers neither clean water nor substantial shelter from the cold.
Kuchine 2
Kuchine refugees at Darulaman Palace in Kabul gather to push-start a mini-van on Sunday, October 24, 2010. Local officials placed over 100 men, women and children belonging to the nomadic group at the abandoned palace after land disputes with Hazara groups turned violent in June. The crumbling structure offers neither clean water nor substantial shelter from the cold.
Kuchine 3
A Kuchine girl plays near signs that warn of unexploded ordinance on Thursday, November 24, 2010 at Darulaman Palace in Kabul. Local officials placed over 100 of the nomadic herdsman at the abandoned palace after land disputes with Hazara groups turned violent in June. The crumbling structure's cold walls don't offer much more than old bombs. There is not clean water and the airy corridors won't be substantial shelter from fast-approaching winter.
Kuchine 4
Boys play near a sign that warns of unexploded ordinance on Thursday, November 24, 2010 at Darulaman Palace in Kabul. Local officials placed over 100 of the nomadic herdsman at the abandoned palace after land disputes with Hazara groups turned violent in June. The crumbling structure's cold walls don't offer much more than old bombs. There is not clean water and the airy corridors won't be substantial shelter from fast- approaching winter.
Found
SPC Mike Bailey, 27, of 1st Platoon C-Company 7th Army 1-4, is surrounded by curious Afghan boys while watching the outskirts of the village of Pisani from inside a ditch Thursday, December 2, 2010. Afghans of all ages are notorious for gathering around foreigners and staring at them for an uncomfortable period, then asking for money, or chocolate, or a pen. According to military reports, cold weather is pushing foreign fighters back to Pakistan through Zabol province. Pisani and small neighboring villages serve as resting points for insurgents preparing for the trek through the mountains.
Zabol Foot Patrol
First Platoon C-company 7th Army 1-4 patrols for IEDs in a drying riverbed near Highway One in Zabol on Tuesday, December 30, 2010. With winter weather coming in, coalition forces are on the lookout for insurgents heading through Zabol to Pakistan for the winter.
Aminullah
Aminullah, 19, wastes away in a bed at Merwais Hospital in Khadahar City Saturday, on December 11, 2010. Aminullah was injured in an IED blast two months earlier near his small village in Helmand province. Afghan doctors were able to stabilize his injuries but they lack the equipment and therapeutic know-how to provide a long-term solution. Unable to digest even the liquid diet provided by the hospital, Aminullah is expected to die in this bed -- of malnutrition or infection -- before spring.
Merwais
The body of a victim of gunfire in Kandahar province lies in an open bag in the dysfunctional morgue at Merwais Hospital in Kandahar City on Saturday, December 11, 2010. Corpses were overheating after refrigeration units broke-down three days earlier.
Perspectives
At left, a United States soldier looks out from the rear deck of a mine-proof Buffalo vehicle toward approaching Afghan children near checkpoint Cheena, north of Qalat in Zabol province on Tuesday, December 7, 2010. The photo at left shows the children's view from the ground. The photo at right is the soldiers' view from within the truck.
Zabol Foot Patrol 2
PFC James Jack of 1st Platoon C-company 7th Army 1-4 patrols a village for IEDs near Highway One in Zabol. With winter weather coming in, coalition forces are on the lookout for insurgents heading through Zabol to Pakistan for the winter.
Zabol Foot Patrol 6
Soldiers of the 2nd Striker Cavalry Regiment, Fire Squadron, Engineer Troop, 1st Platoon walk in a line through the desert in Zabol province on Monday, December 6, 2010. A recent uptick in IED activity in the area around Qalat and Shajoy has kept the platoon on constant patrol.
Zabol Foot Patrol 8
Soldiers of the 2nd Striker Cavalry Regiment, Fire Squadron, Engineer Troop, 1st Platoon march on Highway One in Zabol province Monday, December 6, 2010. A recent uptick in IED activity in the area around Qalat and Shajoy has kept the platoon on constant patrol.
IED Search
SPC Kyle Klofstad, 21, left, and SPC Jared Slate of the 2nd Striker Cavalry Regiment, Fire Squadron, Engineer Troop, 1st Platoon load into the back of an armored vehicle near Qalat in Zabol province on Monday, December 6, 2010. A recent uptick in IED activity in the area around Qalat and Shajoy has kept the platoon on constant patrol.
IED Search 2
SPC Jared Slate and SPC Kyle Klofstad, top, of the 2nd Striker Cavalry Regiment, Fire Squadron, Engineer Troop, 1st Platoon walk ahead of a convoy searching for explosives buried in sand near Qalat in Zabol province on Monday, December 6, 2010. At right, a mine-resistant vehicle follows close behind them on the same stretch of road. A recent uptick in IED activity in the area around Qalat and Shajoy has kept the platoon on constant patrol.
Merwais
A girl suffering from shrapnel wounds from an improvised explosive recovers at Merwais Hospital in Kandahar City on Sunday, December 12, 2010. Merwais, the civilian-run hospital in Kandahar, lacks the staff and the technology needed for long-term care.
Madrasa 3
Under the tutelage of a former Taliban fighter, Afghan boys sway back-and-forth while reading aloud from the Qu'ran at the Herat madrasa on Sunday, October 10, 2010. For most young people, memorizing the Qu'ran is the only accessible form of education.
