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.
That Was Fast
November 28th, 2009 | Photography | Posted by Chris Maddaloni
After about an hour and half break from building the FOB, it’s back to work for 4th Platoon, Charlie Co., 1-17 Infantry. Their Thanksgiving meal is quickly worked off by digging out an entrance for the Strykers, filling sandbags, and building guard towers on the compound.
Happy Thanksgiving
November 27th, 2009 | Photography | Posted by Chris Maddaloni
Members of 4th Platoon, Charlie Co., 1-17 Infantry, eat their Thanksgiving meal after taking over a compound for a brand new FOB near the Argandab valley in Kandahar. Most of the troops said the dinner was decent enough – although there was one loud dissent, “the mashed potatoes taste like shit! And that’s the best part of the meal!” It was universally agreed, though, that flying and trucking in a hot holiday meal was a very, very good thing.
About That Time With The Hot Sauce…
November 25th, 2009 | Photography | Posted by Chris Maddaloni
Sgt. Ryan Sharp, 21, from Brookfield, Wi. (C), shows the rest of 1st Platoon, Bravo Co., 1-17 Infantry, his share of videos and pictures of the unit before turning in for the night – ranging from their training almost 3 years ago in Ft. Lewis, to their current deployment in the Argandab valley in Kandahar, Afghanistan. “A lot of us went to Basic together, and most of us have been together for a long time. It’s stuff from battle drills, classes, and training – us goofing around. It’s probably the first time a group of us together has seen the collection.”
Ruck Up, Gentlemen
November 24th, 2009 | Photography | Posted by Chris Maddaloni
Spc. Brandon Trentham, Bravo Co., 1-17 Infantry, prepares to leave COB Outlaw in the Argandab valley in Kandahar, Afghanistan. The company generally rotates out to another FOB a kilometer away every five days, always on foot. He estimates that his bag weighs around 50 lbs. – and with his 240 and body armor, he’s probably carrying at least his body weight in gear. “You kinda get used to it,” he said.
The, Uhhh, Jolly Roger
November 17th, 2009 | Photography | Posted by Chris Maddaloni
Members of 3rd platoon, Bravo Co., 4-23 Infantry have decorated their Stryker with a favorite deployment theme – and as they told me, “because they like pirates.” Then the rest of them chimed in, chuckling, to explain further, “Yeah! Ass pirates!”
To The Bastions Of Maywand
November 16th, 2009 | Photography | Posted by Chris Maddaloni
Sgt. Timothy Guichard (right) prepares to leave on a patrol, going to a nearby village to ask locals about IEDs that have been planted in the area. I think Mr. Fury would be proud.
Don’t Bet The Mortgage
November 14th, 2009 | Photography | Posted by Chris Maddaloni
Pfc. Israel Lupercio, Pfc. Nicholas Santos, and Spc. Kain Perkins, part of the Route Clearance Patrol – the anti-IED road sweepers, with the 4th Engineers, 576th Engineer Co., play spades while relaxing before their patrol early the next day.
Are We Not Men?
November 12th, 2009 | Photography | Posted by Chris Maddaloni
The sign posted (lower left) at one of the gyms on FOB Ramrod:
THE MANS GYM
-Open to the public
-Open 24 hrs
Rules
-No posing
-No standing around chatting while real men lift
-No whining about lack of equipment, real men make do
-Profanity highly encouraged
-Grunting and gutteral sounds of pain highly encouraged
Pack Your Bags
November 4th, 2009 | Photography | Posted by Chris Maddaloni
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.”