21 September 2011 Zhari District, Kandahar Province, Afghanistan Task Force Spartan, 4-4 Cav The moon in September was special and the war kept going. Bombs are planted everywhere. The dogs catch some, but the dogs will get blown up, too.
16 September 2011 Zhari District, Kandahar Province, Afghanistan 4-4 Cav, Task Force Spartan The enemy has figured out the strategy here in Zhari but they have been unable to stop it. Day by day, Task Force Spartan is constricting the
14 September 2011 FOB Pasab, Kandahar Province, Afghanistan Nobody will have fought a full tour in Southern Afghanistan without bearing witness to a thousand helicopter flights. Before this flight, the pilots and crew check the two Black Hawks from tires
13 September 2011 Zhari District, Kandahar Province, Afghanistan Today there were some attacks far away in Kabul. The attacks meant practically nothing from a military perspective but they garnered much press. We’ve seen this unfold many times in many places.
4-4 Cav Soldiers firing a 40mm mortar on the evening of 20 August 2011. 12 September 2011 Note: This rough dispatch was written over many days during slivers of time between prepping gear and going on missions. Different sentences were
07 September 2011 Kandahar Province, Afghanistan American troops have been losing their britches in combat. Until now, I’ve never seen so many troops exposing their hardware in battle. Many warriors go “commando” into the fighting, meaning that in the name
Sergeant TJ Vowell insists he’s seen the mysterious big cats of Kandahar many times. Recently, Sergeant Vowell got shot. 06 September 2011 Kandahar Province, Afghanistan Task Force Spartan 4-4 Cav, Bravo Troop, 2nd Platoon 2nd Squad There is much talk
Afghan Soldier caught by infrared flash with specially modified camera. 31 August 2011 Afghanistan A Soldier sleeps in a body bag to keep off the bugs. American and Afghan Soldiers share an Afghan family compound overnight in the heart of
30 August 2011 Kandahar Province, Afghanistan Task Force Spartan Rip, rend and slash are all in a day’s work here. Yet I have never seen so many troops with so many pairs of pants that are ready to fall off.
Blocks of M112 C-4 prepared for mission beside roll of M456 detonation cord and accessories. 29 August 2011 Zhari District, Kandahar Province, Afghanistan Task Force Spartan, 4-4Cav There is much to know about explosives. A wealth of art, science, and
My heavily armed tent mates hours before the mission. 24 August 2011 Zhari District, Kandahar Province, Afghanistan Task Force Spartan, 4-4Cav We live in tents. Nice tents with air conditioning. But not now; the electricity and air conditioning are out
A Female Engagement Team (FET) at work in an Afghan compound. The notions that women should not, cannot, or do not go into combat, all are invalid. They should, they can, and they do. And here we need them. 22
[Content warning: Extremely graphic images below the jump.] The Later meeting 18 August 2011 Task Force Spartan, Kandahar Province, Afghanistan During a planning session at a sand table, numerous firefights broke out. We were at safe distance but close enough
A few years ago, a British officer said to me they want to get as far left of bang as possible. The farther left of bang, the better. Right of bang is a crater and a memorial service. A main
29 June 2011 Kabul, Afghanistan There is heavy security around Kabul. A “ring of steel,” as they call it, which is under Afghan authority. I’ve been driving around Kabul for several weeks and have never seen a foreign guard, and
Our people have hunted down and killed Osama bin Laden. Thank you to all the military and other good people who tracked him down to his own sanctuary. We can only hope that the materials captured at his hiding place
Sunrise over Farah 07 April 2011 Afghanistan contains many treasures of ancient history. Climate conditions here preserve old structures whose origins often remain a mystery. Alexander stormed through here a thousand years before the Arabs introduced Islam. Today, after traveling
Seldom do I waste time with rebutting articles, and especially not from publications like Rolling Stone. Today, numerous people sent links to the latest Rolling Stone tripe. The story is titled “THE KILL TEAM, THE FULL STORY.” It should be
Ed. Note: This article is relevant to Big Hollywood because the author of the piece Michael Yon is responding to here is Mark Boal, the screenwriter who won the Oscar for “The Hurt Locker.” Much more to come. Seldom do
Seldom do I waste time with rebutting articles, and especially not from publications like Rolling Stone. Today, numerous people sent links to the latest Rolling Stone tripe. The story is titled “THE KILL TEAM, THE FULL STORY.” It should be
14 Feburary 2011 Salween River: Burma on the left, Thailand on the right. The Salween River forms a border between Thailand and Burma. “Rambo” fictionally crossed this jungle current in the movie Rambo IV. But there is nothing fictional about
During the summer of 2009, the British were fighting hard for Sangin. They were always outnumbered by Taliban and terrain. Casualties were high. Today, US Marines are paying in blood for the very same ground because, in part, they gave
Helicopter Rotors glowing due to Kopp-Etchells Effect Ripley’s Believe it or Not has asked to publish one of my photos in their next book. This photo was made in Sangin, Afghanistan during the last time I was with British forces.
There have been many comments about American arrogance. During my travels to 48 United States and over 50 countries — most of those states and countries multiple times — some themes have emerged. There is a pervasive sense in the
One evening last year in Laos, I saw this monk reading in a window. With the holiday season upon us, I remembered this moment of peace and thought you might like to share it. Please click to download a free
