Afpak Photo War
Archive 14

(Nov. 1, 2009) Hospital Corpsmen assigned to India Company, 3rd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment tend to an injured boy at forward operating base Golestan in the Helmand province of Afghanistan. The boy fell from an unknown height and was in critical condition. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Chad J. Pulliam/Released)

(Sept. 4, 2009) U.S. Navy Hospital Corpsman with 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment (1/5), evacuate an Afghanistan National Army soldier after he was hit with an IED explosion in the road. The explosion seriously injured two Afghanistan National Army soldiers and civilians. The 1/5 is deployed with Regimental Combat Team 3, whose mission is to conduct counter insurgency operations in partnership with the Afghanistan National Security Forces. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Staff Sgt. William Greeson/Released)

(Aug. 12, 2009) Cryptological Technician 2nd Class Chad Kueser is recovering at the Center for the Intrepid at Brook Army Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas, after losing both his legs in a mortar attack in Iraq. Kueser is participating in the Navy Safe Harbor Program, which helps him handle retirement paperwork, complete his personnel records, and other issues. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Jhi L. Scott/Released)

(Nov. 16, 2009) Cryptologic Technician (Technical) Seaman Jennifer Pastor establishes communications with the combat information center aboard the amphibious command ship USS Blue Ridge (LCC 19) before unloading the super rapid bloom off-board chaff. Blue Ridge is underway on a scheduled fall deployment. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Cynthia Griggs/Released)

(Oct. 28, 2009) Detainees at Joint Task Force (JTF) Guantanamo participate in morning prayer before sunrise inside Camp Delta. Detainees at the JTF are afforded the opportunity to pray five times each day and are provided prayer rugs and copies of the Quran. JTF Guantanamo conducts safe, humane, legal and transparent care and custody of detainees, including those convicted by military commission and those ordered released by a court. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Marcos T. Hernandez/Released)

(Nov. 12, 2009) Members of the visit, board, search and seizure team from the guided-missile cruiser USS Chosin (CG 65) keep a close eye on the crew of a suspected pirate dhow as fellow team-mates conduct a search for weapons and other gear. The boarding was conducted as part of counter piracy operations in the Gulf of Aden. Chosin is the flagship of Combined Joint Task Force 151, a multinational task force established to conduct counter-piracy operations. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Scott Taylor/Released)

(Nov. 17, 2009) A boat crew from the guided-missile cruiser USS Chosin (CG 65) approaches three men that were spotted clinging to a piece of wood in the Gulf of Aden. Chosin is the flagship of Combined Joint Task Force 151, a multinational task force established to conduct counter-piracy operations under a mission-based mandate to actively deter, disrupt, and supress piracy off the coast of Somalia. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Scott Taylor/Released) Edited image. Cropped for horizontal orientation.

(Aug. 14, 2009) A burn victim undergoes surgery to remove skin from his legs that will be grafted over his burn in the Emergency Room at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Jhi L. Scott)

An Army carry team carries a transfer case containing the remains of Army Spc. Joseph M. Lewis Friday, Nov. 20, 2009 at Dover Air Force Base, Del. According to the Department of Defense, Lewis, 26, of Terrell, Texas died Nov. 17 in Kandahar, Afghanistan of wounds suffered when enemy forces attacked his vehicle with an improvised explosive device. AP

Sgt. Marquel Mendiola has trouble kneeling while paying his respects, Thursday, Nov. 19, 2009, in North Fort Chapel at Fort Lewis, Wash. , to two fallen soldiers, Spc. Gary L. Gooch and Spc. Aaron S. Aamot, who died in Afghanistan when enemy forces attacked their vehicle with an improvised explosive device. Mendiola was also in that Stryker and suffered injuries. AP

Staff Sgt. David W. Flowers attached the Afghanistan Campaign streamer to the Air Force flag during the Airman's Hall dedication ceremony in the Pentagon Sept. 17, 2009. Sergeant Flowers is an explosive ordnance disposal journeyman who is recovering from injuries sustained during duty in Afghanistan. (U.S. Air Force photo/Andy Morataya)

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (seated, 3rd L) attends a meeting at Afghanistan's foreign affairs ministry after Afghan President Hamid Karzai was sworn in for another term, in Kabul November 19, 2009. Reuters

U.S. Army soldiers of 2/377 Task Force Steel eat at a restaurant at FOB Tillman, Afghanistan, November 19, 2009. Reuters

[Above and two below] U.S. Soldiers with 4th Battalion, 23rd Infantry Regiment conduct a patrol in Anzala Khil Village, Afghanistan, Nov. 5, 2009. The Soldiers are deployed to Forward Operating Base Wolverine in Zabul province, Afghanistan. They are conducting counterinsurgency operations in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Christine Jones/Released) Date Posted: 11/13/2009

Afghan National Army soldiers talk with a U.S. Army interpreter in Anzala Khil Village, Afghanistan, Nov. 5, 2009. The Afghan National Army?s mission is to safeguard the independence and territorial integrity of Afghanistan. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Christine Jones/Released) Date Posted: 11/13/2009

Staff Sgt. Justin Schramm scans the Afghanistan countryside while on a mission on an HH-60 Pave Hawk Nov. 2, 2009. Sergeant Schramm, a flight engineer, is assigned to the 33rd Expeditionary Rescue Squadron at Bagram Airfield. Sergeant Schramm is from Eugene, Ore., and his home station is Kadena Air Base, Japan. (U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman Susan Tracy). [The flex tube directs shell casings and feed-belt debris away from the aircraft and showers flesh cutters on the populace below -- along with ammo debris and machine toxic effluents, discarded plastic water bottles by US servicemembers trash the landscape, complimenting sprinklings of body parts. Hoo-ha!]

An A-10 Thunderbolt II deploys flairs over Afghanistan Nov. 12, 2008. A-10s provide close-air support to ground troops in Afghanistan and Iraq. The A-10's excellent maneuverability at low air speeds and altitude and its highly accurate weapons delivery make it an ideal aircraft for supporting coalition operations. (U.S. Air Force/photo by Staff Sgt. Aaron Allmon)

Container delivery system bundles dropped from a C-17 Globemaster III touch down Sept. 23, 2009, outside a forward operating base in Afghanistan. More than 4 million pounds of supplies were delivered by the Air Force via airdrop in the month of September. (U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Shawn Weismiller)

Col. Marc Stratton leads a flight of current and retired combat controllers in memorial push-ups during the Annual Combat Control Association reunion and memorial service Nov. 3 at Hurlburt Field, Fla. More than 100 people gathered for the ceremony to honor their fallen comrades. Colonel Stratton is the 720th Special Tactics Group commander. (U.S. Air Force photo/Dawn Hart)

Senior Airman Raymond Tate from the 366th Civil Engineer Squadron lines up the crosshairs on a simulated explosive device while training with Tech. Sgt. David Ashcraft from the 99th CES. They are using the explosive ordinance disposal team's Barrett .50-caliber semi-automatic rifle while deployed in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. The Barrett .50-caliber semi-automatic rifle is one of the many ways EOD team members can destroy explosive devices from a safe distance. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Michael Gaddis)

Medical people at Ramstein Air Base, Germany, transport one of the 19 servicemembers who were injured during a friendly-fire incident in Afghanistan on Dec. 5, 2001. Fourteen of the soldiers arrived at Ramstein on Dec. 7 aboard a C-141 Starlifter from McGuire Air Force Base, N.J., and were transported to nearby Landstuhl Regional Medical Center for treatment. The soldiers, all members of elite special operations units, were injured Dec. 5 north of Kandahar, when ordnance dropped from a B-52H Stratofortress inadvertently struck near their position. The friendly-fire incident is currently under investigation. (U.S. Air Force photo by Master Sgt. Keith Reed)

Ground crew members wave at a B-52H Stratofortress bomber as it taxis for take off on a strike mission against al Qaeda terrorist training camps and military installations of the Taliban regime in Afghanistan on Oct. 7, 2001, during Operation Enduring Freedom. The carefully targeted actions are designed to disrupt the use of Afghanistan as a base for terrorist operations and to attack the military capability of the Taliban regime. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Rebeca M. Luquin)

Army Chaplain (Col.) Richard Rogers performs last rites March 25 for six airmen killed when their HH-60G Pave Hawk helicopter crashed near Ghazni, Afghanistan, March 23 [2003]. The helicopter crew was on its way to pick up two Afghan children for treatment in U.S. medical facilities at Bagram Air Base. The remains were being flown to Dover Air Force Base, Del. The airmens’ names are being withheld pending notification of next of kin. (U.S. Army photo by Pvt. Terri Rorke)

An American flag flies high above the air control tower after a storm at Bagram Air Base, Afghanistan, on May 26 [2003]. The tower is located inside Air Force Village, which is home to airmen from the 455th Expeditionary Operations Group. Pilots in the group fly A-10 Thunderbolt IIs supporting the war on terrorism. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Eric M. Grill)

Army Sgt. Osvaldo Ortiz sleeps next to the transfer case and gear of his fallen friend aboard a C-17 Globemaster III bound for Dover Air Force Base, Del., on June 29 [2003]. Ortiz is accompanying the remains to the base and eventually back to the fallen soldier's home in Puerto Rico. (U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Peter Rimar)

Capt. Danny Stout, an air liaison officer deployed with the Army's 2-505 Parachute Infantry Regiment of the 82nd Airborne Division, guides A-10 Thunderbolt IIs onto his location in the mountains of Afghanistan [in August 2003]. Stout, a B-52 Stratofortress pilot serving a two-year tour with the Army, was part of the initial air assault into the hostile area, where he immediately set up his radio and began talking with the fighter aircraft. (U.S. Air Force photo by 2nd Lt. Rebecca Garland)

GANCI AIR BASE, Kyrgyzstan -- Private 1st Class Michael Barone (right) and the rest of Charlie Company, 2-22nd Infantry Regiment, were guests here for about 12 hours before leaving for Afghanistan early Aug. 2 [2003] to support Operation Enduring Freedom. The soldiers are from Fort Drum, N.Y. They arrived en masse via contract airlift, but departed in groups of 30 to 40 on board C-130 Hercules transports. Ganci Air Base is the primary hub for all OEF passengers and cargo. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. James A. Rush)

Vanessa Jackson of Savannah, Ga. , holds the identity tags of her brother, Staff Sgt. Vernon W. Martin, as she talks to reporters after a memorial service in which her brother and seven other members of the 4th Infantry Division were honored at Fort Carson Army Base south of Colorado Springs, Colo. , Wednesday, Nov. 18, 2009. The soldiers were killed on Oct. 3, 2009, in a single battle in Afghanistan. AP

U.S. President Barack Obama looks back as he delivers a speech during a meeting with soldiers from the U.S. Forces Korea before his departure at the U.S. air base in Osan, south of Seoul, November 19, 2009. Obama and South Korean President Lee Myung-bak called on North Korea on Thursday to return to stalled nuclear talks and end its atomic ambitions in return for massive economic aid. Reuters

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, right, is welcomed by top U.S. commander in Afghanistan Gen. Stanley McChystal, left, at the military airport in Kabul, Afghanistan, Wednesday, Nov. 18, 2009. Clinton arrived in Afghanistan to attend Thursday's inauguration of Afghan President Hamid Karzai.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton greets U.S. embassy staff during a ' meet and greet' event at the U.S. embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan, Wednesday, Nov. 18, 2009. Clinton arrived in Afghanistan to attend Thursday's inauguration of President Hamid Karzai. AP

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton smiles at Afghanistan's foreign affairs ministry as she arrives for a meeting after Afghan President Hamid Karzai was sworn in for another term, in Kabul November 19, 2009. Reuters

Germany's Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle (C) attends a meeting at Afghanistan's foreign affairs ministry after Afghan President Hamid Karzai was sworn in for another term, in Kabul November 19, 2009. Reuters

Actor Ralf Moeller (L) smiles while German Minister of Defense, Karl Theodor zu Guttenberg, reacts as they meet at Bendlerblock on November 18, 2009 in Berlin, Germany. Guttenberg thanked Moeller for the actors support for German troops especially in Afghanistan, where Moeller helped to organize fitness equipment and visited the troops regularly. Getty

NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen arrives to a NATO conference in the Hungarian Parliament building in Budapest, Hungary, Thursday, Nov. 19, 2009. Rasmussen arrived to Budapest to talk about NATO's Afghanistan strategy and the Balkan stability with Hungarian politicians. AP

European Parliament President Jerzy Buzek (L) jokes with Czech Parliament Speaker Miloslav Vlcek (R) during a meeting at the Slovak Parliament (NR SR) building on November 18, 2009, in Bratislava, Slovakia. Jerzy Buzek attended a meeting on the 20th anniversary of the Velvet revolution and earlier in the day met with Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, where the two politicians discussed military operations in Afghanistan and the upcoming summit on climate change in Copenhagen. Getty

Canadian diplomat Richard Colvin prepares to testify before the Commons Special Committee on the Canadian Mission in Afghanistan on Parliament Hill in Ottawa November 18, 2009. Reuters

General Stanley McChrystal, U.S. and NATO military chief in Afghanistan (L) and U.S. special envoy to Pakistan and Afghanistan Richard Holbrooke wait for U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to arrive at Kabul airport November 18, 2009. Clinton arrived in Afghanistan on Wednesday for her first visit as America's top diplomat, on the eve of President Hamid Karzai's inauguration after a fraud-tainted election. Reuters

An Afghan woman places her hand on the family grave at a local cemetery for Hazara people November 13, 2009 in Kabul, Afghanistan. Afghans often visit the family grave on Fridays to offer prayer. The Taliban this morning claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing killing two, and wounding at least six people near Camp Phoenix, a U.S military support base. Getty

Afghan National Army soldiers pray in a French military tent set up as a mosque by a French Operational Mentor and Liaison Team (AMLT) in the Tagab Valley some 50 km east of Kabul, Afghanistan, Wednesday, Nov. 18, 2009. Security forces increased patrols on some streets in the Afghan capital and blocked others entirely Wednesday, bracing for possible militant attacks during the inauguration ceremony that will cement President Hamid Karzai's tumultuous re-election victory. AP

A plane carrying U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is saluted by U.S. soldiers upon her arrival at Kabul airport November 18, 2009. Clinton arrived in Afghanistan on Wednesday for her first visit as America's top diplomat, on the eve of President Hamid Karzai's inauguration after a fraud-tainted election. Reuters

U.S. Army 1st Lt. Eric Yager points out a possible insurgent position while Sgt. 1st Class Eusebio Villamor and Spc. Brent Voigt provide security during a patrol across the Depak Valley, Afghanistan, Oct. 30, 2009. The Soldiers are assigned to 405th Civil Affairs Battalion. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Teddy Wade/Released) Date Posted: 11/16/2009

U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Eusebio Villamor and 1Lt. Eric Yager move forward to a different fighting position in order to better observe enemy fighters shooting at coalition forces during a patrol across the Depak Valley, Afghanistan, Oct. 30, 2009. All Soldiers are assigned to 405th Civil Affairs Battalion. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Teddy Wade/Released) Date Posted: 11/16/2009

U.S. Army Soldiers assigned to 405th Civil Affairs Battalion listen to Marine Capt. Patrick Francescon relaying information about enemy activity during a patrol across the Depak Valley, Afghanistan, Oct. 30, 2009. The Soldiers are on patrol with Afghan National Army soldiers and Marines from Embedded Training Team 1-12th. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Teddy Wade/Released) Date Posted: 11/16/2009

U.S. Marines from Embedded Training Team 1-12th set up a fighting position over a ridgeline near Depak Valley, Afghanistan on Oct. 30, 2009. The Marines are on patrol with Afghan National Army and U.S. Army Soldiers. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Teddy Wade/Released) Date Posted: 11/16/2009

U.S. Marine Capt. Patrick Francescon, assigned to Combined Joint Task Force 82nd, patrols the Depak Valley, Afghanistan, Oct. 30, 2009. Francescon is on patrol with Marines from the Embedded Training Team 1-12th, Afghan National Army soldiers and U.S. Army Soldiers. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Teddy Wade/Released) Date Posted: 11/16/2009

U.S. Marine Sgt. Samuel Barnes and Lance Cpl. John Hornbuckle assigned to Embedded Training Team 1-12th, break down a satellite antenna communication system prior to continue with a patrol with Afghan National Army soldiers, and U. S. Army Soldiers across the Depak Valley, Afghanistan Oct. 30, 2009. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Teddy Wade/Released) Date Posted: 11/16/2009