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Michael Yon

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Moonshine on Ama Dablam

Recently, I published an image that became popular. While perusing the photos from that night in the Himalaya in Nepal, a similar but better image popped up. The moon shining off the mountain grabbed and held my eye, and I

Heavenly Shower

The Himalaya near Mount Everest are ruthless and serene, while the stars tracing above are without love or grudge. Seasonal tides of fair and foul weather wash in thousands of trekkers, and more ambitious climbers who kletter by night and

Mt. Everest

Nepal Before returning for third time to Afghanistan this year, have made another trip to the Himalaya. I made this image of Mt. Everest about a week ago. You are welcome to download a copy for personal use. Please also

The Attempted Rescue of Linda Norgrove

Amidst news reports that British aid worker Linda Norgrove, who was being held captive in Afghanistan, was accidentally killed by U.S. forces attempting to rescue her, Michael Yon filed the following report: I contacted via email the office of General

Even as the World Watched IV: Peaceful, or Pistol?

Thai Soldier Watching for Snipers in Bangkok (May 2010): 12 July 2010 Chiang Mai, Thailand During the Thailand fighting in May, the rain of media mixed with the dust of politics, creating mud that left honest people feeling bogged down.

Even as the World Watched II: Tasting the Kool-Aid

Bangkok, May 2010: Published: 05 July 2010 Chiang Mai, Thailand This journalist was all over the place. She stood out from the crowd for obvious reasons. One evening, as the sun was setting, she was walking down a mostly desolate

Even While the World Watched: Part I

Near Lumpini Park, Bangkok. (May 2010): Michael Yon 20 June 2010 Chiang Mai, Thailand Recent violence focused world attention on the Kingdom of Thailand. As the attention flowed in, foreigners poured out, even though fighting was tightly localized and not

Solutions for Afghanistan's Economic and Social Development

Smart Moms raise smart kids: Brunei, Afghanistan, Nepal, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam Published: 08 June 2010 A Gurkha Idea Among the more interesting coalition forces fighting in Afghanistan are the legendary Nepalese Gurkhas. Trained and fielded by the British, as they

Court Decisions on Bagram Detainees

We all are aware that war leads to difficult situations. In regard to detainees, we’ve seen terrorists released only to strike again. Yet in the interest of justice we are concerned about detaining potentially innocent people. Difficult times, difficult answers.

Michael Yon Dispatches: An Afghan Story

District Governor Haji Obidullah Populzai before going on mission with 1-17th Infantry: Published: 9 May 2010 If normal life were a river, most days would likely be a slow-moving, meandering passage. But when a life squeezes into the gorge of

Village Boys

Easter Sunday, 2010 Anywhere, Afghanistan Back in December, C-Co 1-17th Infantry battalion had been in about the worst place in Afghanistan. There is stiff competition for the position of actual worst place, and I am sure there are many contenders

Red Horse In the Desert of Death

Some troops in Afghanistan go months without a shower. Major Ryan O’Conner, XO of the 1-17th Infantry, now in Kandahar Province, said that during a previous tour his Soldiers fought half a year without so much as a dip in

The Battle for Kandahar: Part I

FOB Frontenac, Afghanistan 28 March 2010 Under an early morning sky, a red glow is cast from the lights on an Air Force water drilling rig. A new MATV, or “MATV All Terrain Vehicle,” is being deployed to Afghanistan to

The Scent of Weakness

Kandahar Province, Afghanistan 25 March 2010 Dogs have been trained to carry bombs to attack enemies for decades. The Soviets and others have used dogs as low-tech smart bombs. Yet canine platoons likely would rebel if they caught scent they

Warthog

All photos in this dispatch made on March 1, 2010, at Kandahar Airfield. Kandahar, Afghanistan 23 March 2010 The mission required crossing a bridge that had been blown up a couple hours earlier by a suicide car bomber. The attacker

Princess Salerno

MAJ JF Sucher, MD FACS USAR MC Surgeon, 909th FST The 909th FST saw many children during their first deployment of 2002-2003 in Salerno, Afghanistan, Paktya province, but one beautiful child gripped their hearts. Anyone who saw her then, or

Man Dogs

Kandahar, Afghanistan 15 March 2010 In David Galula’s 1964 book, Counterinsurgency Warfare, THEORY AND PRACTICE, he states: “The ideal situation for the insurgent would be a large, land-locked country, shaped like a blunt-tipped star, with jungle-covered mountains along the borders

Army to Army

American Colonel Writes to Spanish Colonel 15 March 2010 Kandahar, Afghanistan Responding to a document first published here on 08 March, U.S. Army Colonel Robert J. Ulses writes to Spanish Army Colonel Jesus De Miguel Sebastian. The letter from Colonel

The Bridge

Need Bullets? The shortest distance between South Carolina and Kandahar is about 7,500 miles. (As the rocket flies.) Shah Wali Kot, Afghanistan 11 March 2009 The military axiom that “amateurs talk strategy while professionals talk logistics” has special meaning in

Of Concern: A Memo to the Secretary of Defense

Monday, 08 March 2010 Kandahar, Afghanistan Yesterday, an American involved in the war effort handed me a document. It was an email from a Lieutenant Colonel in the 82nd Airborne Division in Afghanistan. His unit is in combat seven days

From Canada: A Thank You to U.S. Service Members

U.S. Air Force Nurse, Lucy Lehker, comforts an ‘unknown’ Canadian soldier after he was badly wounded in Afghanistan. Dear Michael Yon, Today we were sent your story of February 14, 2010. The “unknown” Canadian is our son Danny. He is

Whispers

Flight Medics prepare the aircraft to receive patients. Around Afghanistan 22 February 2010 “Johnny Boy” Captain John Holland was walking out to the aircraft just as I arrived at the flight line. Captain Holland asked, “Are you ready?” “Yes Sir.”