Breaking Down Barriers
January 13th, 2012 | Photography | Posted by Mike Morones
Cpl. James Hernandez, a combat engineer with Alpha Company, 9th Engineer Support Battalion, and a native of Goodyear, Ariz., uses an electric saw to dismantle a HESCO barrier at Firebase Saenz, Helmand province, Dec. 13. FB Saenz is the first of several patrol bases being demilitarized by the Marines of 9th ESB throughout the month of December. (Cpl. Bryan Nygaard/USMC)
Winter Nap
January 10th, 2012 | From the Ranks | Posted by Alan Lessig
U.S. Marine Lance Cpls. Matthew Scofield (left), 19, from Syracuse, N.Y., and Jarrett Hatley, 21, from Millingport, N.C., a squad automatic weapon gunner and an improvised explosive device detection dog handler with 3rd Platoon, Lima Company, 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, rest next to Hatley’s dog Blue after clearing compounds with Afghan National Army soldiers during Operation Tageer Shamal (Shifting Winds) here, Jan. 4. Over the past five years, coalition forces have operated with Afghan National Security Forces to defeat the insurgency in the central Helmand River valley. Driven from the green zones, or populated areas, of districts in southern Helmand, enemy fighters have sought refuge in bed-down locations west of the Helmand River. This area on the outskirts of Garmsir district has been, until now, nearly untouched by the partnered forces and the Afghan government. During the operation, Jan. 4-8, Afghan forces and Marines with 3/3 cleared the area of insurgent activity, weapons and improvised explosive device-making materials, and held shuras to address the concerns of local elders. ( Cpl. Reece Lodder/USMC)
Snow Day At Bagram
January 9th, 2012 | From the Ranks | Posted by Alan Lessig
U.S. Air Force Senior Airman Joseph Rice operates a snowblower next to an F-16C Fighting Falcon at Bagram Air Field, Afghanistan, Jan. 5, 2012. Rice is a crew chief assigned to the 455th Expeditionary Aircraft Maintenance Squadron and is deployed from the 177th Fighter Wing, New Jersey Air National Guard, which is based at Atlantic City International Airport, N.J. (Tech. Sgt. Matt Hecht/Air Force)
AP Photographer Searches For Wounded Marine
December 29th, 2011 | Photography The Wires | Posted by Mike Morones
In this Tuesday, Dec. 13, 2011, photo, injured United States Marine Cpl. Burness Britt reacts after seeing pictures of his evacuation laid out on his bed in the Hunter Holmes Medical Center in Richmond, Va. Britt is facing a long recovery after a large piece of shrapnel from an IED in Afghanistan in June 2011 cut a major artery on his neck. During his first operation in Afghanistan he suffered a stroke and became partially paralyzed. (AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus)
AP photojournalist Anja Niedringhaus has covered war and conflict for 20 years. She has received a Pulitzer Prize and the International Women’s Media Foundation’s Courage in Journalism Award for her work. She has spent considerable time covering the Afghan conflict and spent 2 1/2 weeks in June with the U.S. Army’s “Dust Off” Medevac unit in southwest Afghanistan.
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Inside the medevac helicopter in Afghanistan, U.S. Marine Cpl. Burness Britt bleeds profusely from his neck. He and two other Marines have just been hit by shrapnel, with Britt’s injuries the most serious. The medevac crew chief clutches one of Britt’s blood-covered hands as he is given oxygen. I take hold of the other.
With my free hand, I lift my camera and take some pictures. I squeeze Britt’s hand and he returns the gesture, gripping my palm tighter and tighter until he slips into unconsciousness. His shirt is ripped, but I notice a piece of wheat stuck to it. I pluck it off and tuck it away in the pocket of my body armor.
In my 20 years as a photographer, covering conflicts from Bosnia to Gaza to Iraq to Afghanistan, injured civilians and soldiers have passed through my life many times. None has left a greater impression on me than Britt.
I knew him only for a few minutes in that helicopter, but I believed we would meet again one day, and I hoped to give him that small, special piece of wheat. Click to continue reading here
In this Saturday, June 4, 2011, photo, injured United States Marine Cpl. Burness Britt reacts after being lifted onto a medevac helicopter from the U.S. Army’s Task Force Lift “Dust Off,” Charlie Company 1-214 Aviation Regiment. Britt was wounded in an IED strike near Sangin, in the Helmand Province of southern Afghanistan. At the Hunter Holmes Medical Center in Richmond, Va., Britt is facing a long recovery after a large piece of shrapnel cut a major artery on his neck. During his first operation in Afghanistan he suffered a stroke and became partially paralyzed. (AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus)
Making Friends
December 6th, 2011 | From the Ranks | Posted by Mike Morones
U.S. Marine Sgt. Marcus Martin, a 32-year-old squad leader with Guard Force Platoon, 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment and native of Charlottesville, Va., practices Pashto with Afghan boys while providing security outside the district center on Nov. 28. Guard Force isn’t a traditional infantry platoon. It’s a melting pot of Marines from various occupational specialties that functions as the main security element for the battalion headquarters at Forward Operating Base Delhi. (Cpl. Reece Lodder/USMC)
Helmand Pie
December 1st, 2011 | From the Ranks | Posted by Alan Lessig
Pfc. Joshua Reed (right), a motor transportation operator with 2nd Radio Battalion, Task Force Belleau Wood, eats his cherry pie during the pie-eating competition at the TFBW Praetorian Challenge aboard Camp Leatherneck, Helmand province, Nov. 26. Over 50 coalition troops took part in the event, which consisted of teams from different units within TFBW competing in events such as tug-of-war and the pie-eating contest. Reed and his teammate, Sgt. Edward Butler, finished in third place. (Cpl. Katherine Keleher/USMC)
Posthumous Bronze Star
November 26th, 2011 | From the Ranks | Posted by Mike Morones
GULFPORT, Miss (Nov. 17, 2011) Rear Adm. Mark Handley, commander of 1st Naval Construction Division, presents a Bronze Star with Valor medal to the 12-year-old son of Chief Builder Raymond Border during a memorial service in honor of the fallen Seabee at Naval Construction Battalion Center Gulfport. Border was killed-in-action Oct. 19 by an improvised explosive device while assessing a convoy route in Paktika Province, Afghanistan. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Michael Lindsey)
Honoring the Afghan Fallen in Garmsir
November 24th, 2011 | From the Ranks | Posted by Mike Morones
U.S. Marine Lt. Col. Matthew J. Palma, the commanding officer of 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment and native of Bristol, R.I., receives the prayer of a mullah, or local religious leader, in honor of fallen District Chief of Police Lt. Col. Sayfullah Khan Rashidi during his funeral here, Nov. 13. Sayfullah died after his vehicle was destroyed by an improvised explosive device that detonated while he traveled on a Garmsir road Nov. 6. Two other ANP members were killed in the explosion, which occurred on the first day of the three-day Islamic festival of sacrifice Eid al-Adha. Amidst the challenging circumstances, 25-year-old District Governor Mohammad Fahim said Garmsir’s stability remains unshaken by Sayfullah’s death. “Lt. Col. Sayfullah was brave and it’s unfortunate we lost him, but we still have security and stability in Garmsir ‚ this hasn’t changed,” Fahim said. (Cpl. Reece Lodder/USMC)
Sunrise Over Helmand
October 27th, 2011 | Photography | Posted by Mike Morones
A V-22 Osprey flies over Camp Leatherneck as the sun rises over Helmand province, Oct. 23. The V-22 Osprey is a multi-mission military aircraft combining both vertical takeoff and landing, and short takeoff and landing capability. It is designed to combine the functionality of a conventional helicopter with the long-range, high-speed cruise performance of a turboprop aircraft. (Petty Officer 2nd Class Jonathan Chandler/RC-Southwest- USMC)
Dignified Transfer
October 23rd, 2011 | The Wires | Posted by Mike Morones
An Air Force officer watches as the transfer case containing the remains of Army Spc. Michael Elm, 25, of Phoenix, Ariz., moves across the tarmac in a Transfer Vehicle at Dover Air Force Base, Del. Thursday, Oct. 20, 2011. The Department of Defense announced that Elm died Oct. 14 in Khowst, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked his unit with an improvised explosive device.(AP Photo/Cliff Owen)