Yesterday, I wrote in this space about the “120 Days of Wind,” that lovely time of year in southern Afghanistan when sandstorms come more frequently than showers for many Marines. Without belaboring the point, it’s worth noting that Marines with 1st Tank Battalion, out of Twentynine Palms, Calif., recently posted some pretty epic photos of recent sandstorms on their Facebook page. It appears they were taken by someone with Delta Company, which is based in the upper Gereshk Valley, primarily at Combat Outpost Ouellette. Check these out: I feel the crunching in my teeth already.
Browsing: 120 Days of Wind
It’s that time of the year again. It’s time to eat dirt. At least it is in Afghanistan, where the summer sandstorm season is underway. The photograph above was posted recently on the Facebook page of 1st Battalion, 5th Marines, depicting a sandstorm in Sangin district. As noted on Battle Rattle last year when I was downrange, the season is known as the “120 Days of Wind.” It runs from late-spring through Afghanistan’s hot summers, whipping up storms on a regular basis that suffocate light, halt air traffic and prevent some Marines from going on patrol. After all, if a squad…
COMBAT OUTPOST REILLY, Afghanistan – It’s a relatively slow day here with Kilo Company, so I wanted to touch on a subject that really grinds my gears: sandstorms. If you haven’t experienced one yet, you don’t know what you’re missing. The sand pelts you hard enough that it’s painful to keep your eyes open, and the storms come out of the blue so quickly, it can be difficult to prepare for them. Photographer Tom Brown and I experienced our first sandstorm on this trip during the infamous night aboard a CH-53 helicopter, but it wasn’t the last one. Last week,…
