On Pharmacy Road Captain Henry Coltart on Pharmacy Road 24 August 2009 Helmand Province, Afghanistan The British soldiers of 2 Rifles had a mission: clear and hold Pharmacy Road. FOB Jackson is currently home to Battlegroup headquarters for 2 Rifles.
Helmand Province, Afghanistan A gunshot ripped through the darkness and a young British soldier fell dying on FOB Jackson. I was just nearby talking on the satellite phone and saw the commotion. The soldier was taken to the medical tent
17 August 2009 Sangin, Afghanistan The roads are so littered with enemy bombs that nearly all transport and resupply to this base occurs by helicopter. The pilots roar through the darkness, swoop into small bases nestled in the saddle of
10 August 2009 Sangin, Afghanistan Daily dramas unfolded, including the bangs, booms and small-arms fire that punctuated the times. At 1800, I was preparing to go to orders with 1 Platoon, A Company of 2 Rifles, when shots from a
Thursday night, 06 August 2009 Afghanistan I made this photo last night in Helmand Province, Afghanistan. This Landing Zone is very dangerous. A few weeks ago, another helicopter was coming into this LZ and was shot down at the last
05 August 2009 The helicopter pilot wearing night vision goggles roared in so fast it looked as though he were crashing. The four green Cylums (Americans call them Chemlights) mark the HLS. While the helicopter is above the dust cloud,
03 August 2009 Sangin, Afghanistan The bugs are not bad in this part of Afghanistan. The scorched terrain is biologically boring. Mice and ferret-like creatures dash around in the evenings when sparrows and doves and a few other sorts of
Sangin, Helmand Province Afghanistan 29 July 2009 Orders are given before every operation. The orders filter down through various unit levels involved, until each platoon finally receives its specific mission. The concept for this mission came down from the 2
27 July 2009 Sangin, Afghanistan I cannot operate in the war without your support. If support does not substantially increase, I will be forced to abandon war reporting in September. There has seldom been much interest in the Afghanistan war.
25 July 2009 Sangin, Afghanistan Have been out with British forces in the area of Sangin in northern Helmand Province. This area appears to be turning into the main effort of the current fight in Afghanistan, but this is unclear
22 July 2009 Filed from Sangin, Afghanistan (This dispatch is from Ghor Province, though I am now with British forces down south.) Lithuanian soldier on Swedish C-130 from Kabul to Kandahar and finally to Chaghcharan. On his left are Filipino
Yesterday, a helicopter crashed on base at Kandahar Airfield, killing sixteen. Later that night we had a minor rocket attack which caused me to roll out of bed onto the floor, while this morning, I got up to the great
16 July 2009 Ghor Province, Afghanistan On a per capita basis, Afghanistan is becoming more dangerous for British and American troops than Iraq ever was. For those who fought in places like Anbar, Basra, Baghdad, Diyala and Nineveh, that’s saying
13 July 2009 Ghor Province, Afghanistan The wake-up alarm sounded at 0345, and by 0430 the Lithuanian soldiers were ready to roll. The Lithuanians had always arrived early, prepared for action before every mission, but this time we relied on
08 July 2009 (Filed from Afghanistan) The fight in the southern Philippines varies in intensity and technique. Commanders in the AFP (Armed Forces Philippines) will say that the fight consists of about 80% carrot and 20% stick. The relationship between
06 June 2009 Filed From Chaghcharan, Afghanistan Overview Until recently, Afghanistan was called “The Forgotten War.” The dramatic domestic, regional, and international politics of the Iraq war largely eclipsed the fact that our people were fighting just as hard in
