OVER HELMAND PROVINCE, Afghanistan – The Marine pilots peered closely at the ridgelines below, roaring through the sky in helicopters loaded with ordnance. “See that compound there?” one of them said Saturday, skimming over a desert plain in a UH-1Y Huey. “Let’s keep our eye on it.” The observation was part of a routine combat sustainment mission, which are conducted to keep the helos ready for war. They’re typically launched from the Marine flight line at Camp Bastion, a British base abutting Camp Leatherneck, the largest Marine installation in Afghanistan. A Sept. 14 attack on Bastion has brought a new…
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CAMP LEATHERNECK, Afghanistan – Dropping off some laundry, I couldn’t help notice the barking around the corner. More than a dozen Marines were laying on their bellies in the dirt, working their body cores in a series of exercises outlined in the CrossFit fitness program. They were with R4OG, a group sent here to prepare gear to be sent back to the U.S. as part of the drawdown of coalition forces. The acronym stands for Retrograde and Redeployment in support of Reset and Reconstitution Operational Group. Photographer Colin Kelly and I ended up back at Leatherneck this morning after hopping…
COMBAT OUTPOST TAGHAZ, Afghanistan – I was lifting weights Tuesday night in the dusty, prison-inspired gym here when Cpl. Byron Willis ran up to two of his fellow Marines. “The dog ate all the cigars!” he exclaimed. Willis, 24, was referring to Sgt. Crank, the improvised explosive device detector dog on post. Willis, Crank’s handler, and the black Labrador retriever are assigned to Weapons Company 3rd Battalion, 8th Marines, out of Camp Lejeune, N.C. The back story: A sergeant had teased Crank with a toy football earlier in the day but wouldn’t let him have it, Willis said today. When…
PATROL BASE GHARDAI, Afghanistan – In two embedded assignments in Helmand province this year, I’ve heard a lot from Marines about how much the Afghan National Security Forces have improved. Frequently, that holds true. Generally, they seem far more willing to patrol and stand up to the Taliban now than they did in 2010, when I saw regular tensions between Marines and soldiers with the Afghan National Army in Marjah, a district that was rife with violence at the time. Sometimes, you see the flip side, though. And today was one of those days. A team with Marine Border Adviser…
COMBAT OUTPOST PAYNE, Afghanistan — When you step off a helicopter at this dusty outpost, you’re immediately asked to recall a hero. The airfield is named after Capt. Ryan Iannelli, 27, an AH-1W Super Cobra pilot who died here Sept. 28, 2011, following an aviation mishap. As colleague James K. Sanborn outlined in a story early this year, an investigation found that a faulty landing pad led to Iannelli’s Cobra crashing within seconds of takeoff. I snapped the photograph above after stepping off an MV-22 Osprey at Iannelli Airfield last week, when I arrived at Payne. I’ve never met him,…
TAGHAZ, Afghanistan – Sometimes, you have to get a little muddy in life. That’s a good lesson learned in Afghanistan, at least. It came up today while on foot patrol in this area with members of Marine Border Adviser Team 1, as they pushed on foot from their outpost in southern Helmand province to a nearby tactical checkpoint that members of the Afghan Border Police call home. It wasn’t a long patrol, to be certain. We hiked perhaps a mile from Combat Outpost Taghaz in Khanashin district to the checkpoint, maneuvering past camels, sheep, scraggly bushes -– and through a…
KHANASHIN, Afghanistan – From behind his wooden desk, Lt. Col. Rasoul held court for hours today, answering Marine questions about everything from his unit’s recent operations to insurgent activity in the region. The short, bearded commander of the Afghan Border Police unit here meets with Marine Border Adviser Team 1 regularly near the village of Taghaz, discussing the way ahead as their partnership evolves. The advisers –- attached to 3rd Battalion, 8th Marines -– are gradually pulling back from assisting with day-to-day operations for the ABP battalion as the U.S. drawdown continues, and Rasoul knows it. Photographer Colin Kelly and…
COMBAT OUTPOST TAGHAZ, Afghanistan – If you’re going to spend a month in Afghanistan, you may as well visit the frontier while you’re there. Photographer Colin Kelly and I moved across Helmand province’s Khanashin district today, hopping a long convoy ride here from Combat Outpost Payne. We rolled through the desert with Marine Border Adviser Team 1. The unit is attached to 3rd Battalion, 8th Marines, out of Camp Lejeune, N.C., but primarily comprises Marines from Camp Pendleton, Calif., and other West Coast installations. BAT-1 – and yes, they use a bat signal as a logo some of the time…
COMBAT OUTPOST TAGHAZ, Afghanistan – If you’re going to spend a month in Afghanistan, you may as well visit the frontier while you’re there. Photographer Colin Kelly and I moved across Helmand province’s Khanashin district today, hopping a long convoy ride here from Combat Outpost Payne. We rolled through the desert with Marine Border Adviser Team 1. The unit is attached to 3rd Battalion, 8th Marines, out of Camp Lejeune, N.C., but primarily comprises Marines from Camp Pendleton, Calif., and other West Coast installations. BAT-1 – and yes, they use a bat signal as a logo some of the time…
COMBAT OUTPOST PAYNE, Afghanistan — It’s well after dusk here in the desert, but I wanted to take a minute to share how my day began. As you can see above, there’s one hell of a sunrise on the right day downrange. I’m still struggling to adjust to the time zone difference, so I awoke today about 4 a.m. — more than early enough to wait for the day to begin. The sun peeked over the horizon, exploding in a series of pink, orange and rose hues. I took it in, grabbing this image from behind the safe confines of…
