Browsing: Colin Kelly

COMBAT OUTPOST PASERLAY, Afghanistan — Once again, it’s time to get dirty. Marine Corps Times arrived at this dusty outpost today, moving in on a convoy from nearby Forward Operating Base Geronimo. That capped a 12-hour period that also saw photographer Colin Kelly and I hop a helicopter to Geronimo from Camp Leatherneck, the Corps’ largest base here in Helmand province. We’ve definitely moved to a place where things should be interesting. Weapons Company, 1st Battalion, 1st Marines, out of Camp Pendleton, Calif., is based here in Trek Nawa, a volatile rural section of Helmand nestled between Marjah and Nawa…

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…

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…

CAMP LEATHERNECK, Afghanistan – The more things change, the more they stay the same. That holds true on this vast forward operating base, which photographer Colin Kelly and I arrived at this afternoon. It still serves as the main hub of Marine operations in Afghanistan, even after thousands of Marines were withdrawn from Helmand province this summer. We flew here on a British C-130, spending more than an hour in the air from Kabul International Airport. The flight included about 30 British troops and a handful of Estonians, among others. After spending all of April and part of May embedded…

KABUL, Afghanistan — Once again, it’s time to get to work. Photographer Colin Kelly and I arrived here in Afghanistan this morning on overnight flight from Istanbul, eventually making our way over to the military side of Kabul International Airport. It’s one of the main camps here for the International Security Assistance Force overseeing the war, but it also serves as a transit trip for folks like us, who are heading farther out into the war zone. This marks the third trip for both Colin and I. We had a laugh this morning discussing how nervous we both were on our…

It’s that time again: Marine Corps Times is heading back to the Sandbox. In coming days, I’ll be embedding with Marine forces in Afghanistan with Colin Kelly, a senior videographer and photographer on staff. It’ll mark the third trip for each of us to Afghanistan, and my second in Helmand province this year. It’s a key time to visit the war zone for several reasons, as pointed out in this new story I put together after interviewing several deployed general officers. In recent days, the U.S. has completed its drawdown to about 68,000 troops across Afghanistan, ending a two-plus year…

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