Line of Sight

Pack Your Bags

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Soldiers move their bags in the middle of the night from storage to prepare for deployment to another FOB – as one of them put it succinctly, “They don’t tell me where! They just tell me to move.”

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The Service

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Members of the 2nd Battalion, 1st Infantry regiment pause at a memorial service at FOB Ramrod for Pfc. Brian Bates, 20, from Gretna, La. He was killed in Kandahar last week by an IED while driving a Stryker on patrol.

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Minister of Defense, Estonia

Jaak Aaviksoo, Estonian Minister of Defense, at the Estonian Embassy in Washington, D.C. on Monday, November 2, 2009. Estonia has soldiers in Afghanistan, but this time they are on the Afghan's side. Much different than 30 years ago.

Jaak Aaviksoo, Estonian Minister of Defense, at the Estonian Embassy in Washington, D.C. on Monday, November 2, 2009. Estonia has soldiers in Afghanistan, but this time they are on the Afghan's side. Much different than 30 years ago.

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Your new Secretary of the Army

John M. McHugh, 21st Secretary of the Army, speaks during his Arrival Ceremony at Conmy Hall, Ft. Myer, VA, on Monday, November 2, 2009.

John M. McHugh, 21st Secretary of the Army, speaks during his Arrival Ceremony at Conmy Hall, Ft. Myer, VA, on Monday, November 2, 2009.

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AAA

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A roadside air compressor for your tires in Kabul – they are a common sight on roads that aren’t in total gridlock (i.e., traffic circles)…. the roads are so bad that the taxi driver said he fills his tires up to three times a week.

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Interior Decorating, Kabul

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Vintage British empire weapons, collected from across the Af-Pak region, on sale at the Gandamack Lodge in Kabul. Ask about the WW1-era Morris machine gun in the back, still fresh from the factory, with original grease and oil in the stock. And yes, for a few hundred bucks, they come with bayonets – but do they fit in a Fed Ex box?

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Zabul Redux: Window Seat

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A door gunner in a Chinook in Afghanistan last June – and Sean and I are on our way back to Zabul, via Kabul first.

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Zabul Redux: The Hills Are Alive

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5/20/09: A young shepherd in the mountains near FOB Baylough in remote, central Zabul Province, Afghanistan – if you want, check out his tunes.

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Zabul Redux: Stay Calm, Boys

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06/11/09: Hundreds of new members of the ANP graduate from a 16-week long training course at Camp Scorpion in Kandahar. They are issued new weapons, a Hungarian rifle similar to AK-47’s.

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Jazz in the DC VA atrium

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