Sharing a Drink
October 24th, 2011 | From the Ranks | Posted by Mike Morones
U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Martin Ratkowski, Combined Team Zabul K-9 handler, gives his K-9, Tosca, water during a patrol to a local village in the district of Mizan, Afghanistan, Oct. 20, 2011. Sergeant Ratkowski is deployed from the 9th Security Forces Squadron at Beale Air Force Base and is originally from Buffalo, N.Y. (Senior Airman Grovert Fuentes-Contreras/Dept. of Defense)
Rough Recovery
October 14th, 2011 | From the Ranks | Posted by Mike Morones
U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Patrick Reynolds, Security Forces squad leader attached to Provincial Reconstruction Team Zabul, fights racing water while holding onto a tow strap attached to an Afghan National Army vehicle stuck in the Lurah River in Shinkai district, Afghanistan, Oct. 12. The ANA asked PRT Zabul for assistance because of the PRT’s vehicle recovery capabilities. Reynolds is deployed from Charlie Company, 182nd Infantry Division, Massachusetts National Guard. (Senior Airman Grovert Fuentes-Contreras /Dept. of Defense)
Goin’ to Church
February 10th, 2011 | Photography | Posted by Chris Maddaloni
Spc. Joshua Jacobsen, Bravo Co., 2-7 Cavalry, stands guard in front of a Christian church in Qaraqosh, Iraq, February 9, 2011. They go on daily joint Iraqi/Kurdish/U.S. patrols from Checkpoint #3 on the eastern outskirts of Mosul. These small patrol bases are one of the few places where U.S. military still regularly leaves their bases and interacts with the population.
Dogs of War
June 24th, 2010 | From the Ranks | Posted by Alan Lessig
Lance Cpl. Daniel Franke, a dog handler attached to Alpha Company, 1st Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, Regimental Combat Team 2, lays in the prone on an overlooking hill with his dog, in Towrah Ghundey, June 11. The Marines posted on the hill soon received enemy contact and suppressed the enemy, causing them to retreat.
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.
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 Forest Planet
November 23rd, 2009 | Photography | Posted by Chris Maddaloni
Sgt. Jason Hawkins, Bravo Co., 1-17 Infantry, watches the perimeter on patrol shortly after sunrise in the dense orchards and vineyards of the Argandab valley in Kandahar, Afghanistan. During the summertime, the foliage is so dense that visibility is only around 40 ft. when you’re kneeling. Grunts from across several operating areas have compared it to Vietnam – the daily patrols in a thick belt of green, regular gunfights, explosions heard in distance, and the Kiowas overhead – but minus the naplam, of course.
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…..)