Where’s My Bird?
November 20th, 2009 | Photography | Posted by Chris Maddaloni
Members of 1st Platoon, Blackwatch Co., 2-1 Infantry, look for a downed “Raven” UAV from another battalion near Hutal village, along Highway One, in Kandahar. The Raven is rather small – it weighs a only few pounds, and has a four foot wingspan, and is particular useful with infantry operations.
Looking For The Taliban
November 19th, 2009 | Photography | Posted by Chris Maddaloni
Lt. Nicholas Privette leads members of 1st platoon, the “Roughnecks,” on cordoned search through nearby Hutal village, looking for insurgents that may be holed up in the area.
The Roughnecks
November 18th, 2009 | Photography | Posted by Chris Maddaloni
Spc. Anthony Hernandez sets up his 240 in a wagon at the entrance of an alleyway while on patrol with 1st platoon, the “Roughnecks,” Blackwatch Co., 2-1 Infantry, near COP Rath in western Kandahar.
(On a semi-related note, these kind gentlemen in the Roughnecks, gave me a warm room in a genuine building last night. Let’s just say, the last few nights previously were rather cold – generator issues – without heat in the tent, despite a woolie cap, clothes and a sleeping bag. Kings among men, to say the least…..)
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.
Door Number One
November 13th, 2009 | Photography | Posted by Chris Maddaloni
Sgt. Mikael Barrow, with 2-1’s Blackwatch Company, exits a nomad’s hut after searching it on a patrol with Afghan police in Maywan district, Kandahar. And, yes, mustaches are basically required in this unit.
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
Morning Truck Ride
November 11th, 2009 | Photography | Posted by Chris Maddaloni
Spc. Michael Holt, with 2-1’s Blackwatch company, prepares to mount his Stryker before an early morning mission in western Kandahar.
Sound System
November 8th, 2009 | Photography | Posted by Chris Maddaloni
In the village of Luy Karez, searching compound to compound – an IED hotspot for the area.
Tatooine
November 7th, 2009 | Photography | Posted by Chris Maddaloni
Afghanistan is a complicated place, and although grammar police may hate mixed metaphors, this place is rife with ‘em… Last time, in Zabul, I keep thinking of the Wild West. But western Kandahar is definitely all Star Wars. About four people today on the patrol with the 2-1’s Blackwatch all mentioned Tatooine to me. Take my word for it, around here, you can’t understate all often this place evokes a little slice of Hollywood fantasy gone rogue.
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.”