Shadow Dustoff
October 15th, 2010 | Photography | Posted by Chris Maddaloni
On Monday, we’ll publish the story on our nearly month long embed with Shadow Dustoff in Kandahar during the start of Operation Dragon Strike – here is an outtake from the edit.
U.S. soldiers from the 1st Battalion, 320th Field Artillery Regiment, near COB Terra Nova, Arghandab valley, Kandahar, Afghanistan, carry an ANA soldier who was wounded on patrol to a “Shadow Dustoff” helicopter, September 18th, 2010. The soldier was a double amputee from a pressure plate IED.
Riding Shotgun
September 10th, 2010 | Photography | Posted by Chris Maddaloni
Spc. Nathan Webster, a door gunner on a B/6-101st Avn Rgt “chase” Blackhawk helicopter, scans the ground of a hot LZ in the Arghandab valley where a medievac picks up a wounded U.S. soldier.
Over Arghandab
September 8th, 2010 | Photography | Posted by Chris Maddaloni
A C/6-101st Avn Rgt medievac Blackhawk helicopter flies back to Kandahar Airfield hospital carrying a U.S. soldier who had been shot twice from a hot LZ in the Arghandab valley.
Going Back to Kandy
August 25th, 2010 | Photography | Posted by Chris Maddaloni
Kelly Kennedy and I will be reporting from Kandahar and RC South all next month – more posts to follow…. For more from my last trip there, featuring scenic FOB Ramrod pictured above – start here.
The Dahla Dam
December 9th, 2009 | Photography | Posted by Chris Maddaloni
The Dahla Dam on the Argandab River, which was built with help from the West in the 50′s, feeds a long network of canals, irrigating the former breadbasket of the country. Eighty percent of Kandahar’s population near some aspect of this system – and after years of war, the irrigation system works a significantly reduced capacity. ISAF officials say it will be at least five years until the dam and waterways are working fully again.
Nomad Camp, Argandab
December 4th, 2009 | Photography | Posted by Chris Maddaloni
A Kuchi herder – Pashto nomads – tends to his flock of sheep outside of Rajan Kala, near the Argandab valley, during the closing night of Eid Al-Adha, the Muslim holiday that marks Abraham’s sacrifice – and ends up being a kind of Thanksgiving feast.
Tell Her About The Coffee
December 3rd, 2009 | Photography | Posted by Chris Maddaloni
Staff Sgt. Jason Hughes, Squad Leader, 1st Platoon, Charlie Co., 1-17 Infantry, writes a letter home to his grandmother at the Baba Saheb district center in Kandahar. He often takes up to three days to write a letter, taking his time to figure out what he wants to say.
I’d suggest he could let her know that the unit has the finest coffee I’ve ever had in the military, made with a truly mind-boggling piece of equipment, too. Can you tell these guys are based near Seattle?
New FOB #2
December 2nd, 2009 | Photography | Posted by Chris Maddaloni
After scouting some new desolate hills about 1000 yards away from the last compound, Staff Sgt. Matthew Sanders, Charlie Co., 1-17 Infantry, takes in his newly assigned patrol base, an empty hilltop outside of town. Who needed walls or buildings anyway for the winter? C-wire is just as good.
That Was Fast, Yet Again
December 1st, 2009 | Photography | Posted by Chris Maddaloni
So that new FOB that 4th platoon just secured, and built up guard defenses, a proper bathroom with a door (minus some walls), dug up an entrance path for the Strykers, and whatnot for two days? Four hours after he visits the FOB with no official name, the battalion commander decides the site is no good and tells the men they have to move. Back to work, but in reverse… Looks like we’ll get no walls now, either – moving out to some field or hill, it seems.
No Vacancies
November 30th, 2009 | Photography | Posted by Chris Maddaloni
4th Platoon, Charlie Co., 1-17 Infantry’s sleeping arrangements – and the sole building on the compound? Those warm spots are reserved for a few cows that the landlord owns, part of the rental agreement. Now I know where we stand, cheers.