FORWARD OPERATING BASE WHITEHOUSE, Afghanistan — If you’ve ever wondered what it’s like to walk through peanut butter, visit southern Afghanistan during a rainstorm. I learned that lesson the hard way in the last two days in Kajaki district. The storms started Wednesday while we were visiting elements of Weapons Company, 1st Battalion, 8th Marines, at Patrol Base Sheheban, a small outpost to the west of the Helmand River. The rain kicked in again today before dawn, and continued with few interruptions until nearly 2 p.m. local time. Rainy season here is in February, they tell me. Except when it…
Browsing: Patrol Base Sheheban
PATROL BASE SHEHEBAN, Afghanistan –- I can say it from experience now: patrolling through the poppy fields of Helmand province is every bit as distracting as I had been warned. The beautiful poppy blossoms leap out at anyone passing. The flowers — ranging in color from white and pink to a deep, rich rose — stand nearly waist high, and will likely remain in bloom for at least another week. As the blossoms shrivel, farmers will score the remaining bulbs and collect the fluid oozing out. The product is developed into heroin and other opium-based drugs — something that isn’t…
PATROL BASE SHEHEBAN, Afghanistan –- I can say it from experience now: patrolling through the poppy fields of Helmand province is every bit as distracting as I had been warned. The beautiful poppy blossoms leap out at anyone passing. The flowers — ranging in color from white and pink to a deep, rich rose — stand nearly waist high, and will likely remain in bloom for at least another week. As the blossoms shrivel, farmers will score the remaining bulbs and collect the fluid oozing out. The product is developed into heroin and other opium-based drugs — something that isn’t…