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…
Browsing: Khanashin
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…
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…
KHANASHIN, Afghanistan – The Marines pushed out here early this morning, making their way to two Afghan Border Police outposts at the edge of a desolate wasteland desert. The convoys from Combat Outpost Payne have become routine, said Capt. Alexis Miguel, assistant team leader for Border Adviser Team 2, 3rd Battalion, 8th Marines. The advisers are primarily from Camp Pendleton, Calif., and attached to 3/8 in the field this summer. The shift to having Afghan National Security Forces in the lead providing their nation’s security has changed the way the advisers do business. They used to live alongside the border…
Living in suburbia, you forget that there are places on the planet where you can see more stars than you ever thought possible. With no street lamps or strip malls around, stars light up the night sky above Forward Operating Base Payne on Oct. 4, 2012, in Helmand Province, Afghanistan.
COMBAT OUTPOST PAYNE, Afghanistan – And just like that, we’ve reached the Marine Corps’ southern frontier in Helmand province. Photographer Colin Kelly and I traveled by MV-22 Osprey today to this desert outpost in Khanashin district, where most people live in a collection of rural villages along a bend in the Helmand River. It was first flooded with Marine forces in July 2009 during Operation Khanjar, or Strike the Sword, becoming part of the biggest aerial assault since the Vietnam War. COP Payne was established afterward and served as the battalion headquarters for the last few years for light armored…
