Subscribe FeedBuilding security one sandbag at a time
U.S. Army Sgt. Brian Bentley and U.S. Army Spc. Zech Burke, both cavalry scouts with 1st Plt. and a Bennington, Vt., resident, along with several Afghan National Policemen help unload (click for more)
Soldiers protect COP Garcia with howitzer
NANGARHAR PROVINCE, Afghanistan – Army Paul M. Gatto, from Bethlehem, Pa., a cannoneer from Task Force Balls, elevates a M777 howitzer and hooks up his firing lanyard seconds before discharging (click for more)
Engineers conduct overnight mission in Afghanistan
PANJSHIR PROVINCE, Afghanistan - Air Force Capt. Phillip Baker, Panjshir PRT engineer, along with Air Force 1st Lt. Jason Adams, Panjshir PRT engineer, assemble an antenna in order to communicate (click for more)
Gathering together to build relationships
PAKTIKA PROVINCE, Afghanistan — While spectators watch, members of the Sharana Hospital volleyball team play a friendly match against coalition force units at Forward Operating Base Rushmore Oct. 2. (click for more)
TF Spartan perseveres despite challenges
NANGARHAR PROVINCE, Afghanistan – U.S. Army Soldiers with 1st Platoon, Company A, 2nd Battalion, 327th Infantry Regiment, Task Force Spartan, help Afghan Border Police load blast wall barriers onto the (click for more)
Kentucky ADT visits Parwan Director of Women’s Affairs
Maj. Bobby Mayes, women’s empowerment coordinator, and Sgt.1st Class Maureen Houston, FET member, meet with Zareen Saleha, the Deputy Director of Women’s Affairs for the Parwan Director of Agriculture, Irrigation, (click for more)
Ground Soldiers learn to fly
U.S. Army Cpl. Robert F. Chauncey, from McKinney, Texas, a team leader with Company C, 2nd Battalion, 327th Infantry Regiment, Task Force Spartan, takes part in a pre-flight inspection of (click for more)
U.S. troops in Paktya Province plan bridges
PAKTYA PROVINCE, Afghanistan – U.S. troops from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Paktya Provincial Reconstruction Team use a measuring tape to measure the distance of one point (click for more)
ANA Soldiers receive vaccinations at Parsa
KHOWST PROVINCE, Afghanistan – An Afghan National Army basic trainee receives a vaccination Sept. 28. (click for more)
TF Viper mechanics keep helicopters flying
U.S. Army Sgt. Craig Hayward, powertrain mechanic and native of Huntingtown, Md., assigned to Company D, Task Force Viper attempts to loosen a bolt on a rotor head from an (click for more)
GHAZNI PROVINCE, Afghanistan – The Ghazni Provincial Reconstruction Team visited Patoo village in the mountainous district of Jaghori here Oct. 14 to survey a school construction site and a possible location for a new dam.
The team traveled with Afghan National Police and drove in rented cars across bumpy unpaved roads for two hours to reach the remote village where an Afghan contractor was building a school for next year.
Patoo village members introduced their proposal to Angela Szyszlo, Ghazni PRT education specialist from Poland, in a previous visit to the village.
“There were only tents here,” Szyszlo said, recalling her first visit.
Szyszlo went to the PRT engineers, showed them the proposal and what she had seen, and the PRT said they could start the project. When the engineers visited the site Oct. 14, they saw where the land had been leveled by dynamite and chalk lines were drawn in the dirt to show the general layout of the future 12-classroom school.
Currently, 200 students, both boys and girls, are studying in tents during separate times at a location at the foot of the hill.
The PRT also learned that the last 20 days were spent starting the foundation to set up for the masonry work.
“We started so late in the season, we hope they’ll get the foundation done before the winter, and then we’ll have them start back up in March and finish this next building season,” said Bill Anderson, an engineer technician with the United States Army Corps of Engineers from Atlanta, Ga.
The school did have one different addition to it – a proposed soccer field.
“A normal school design doesn’t have a soccer field, but we asked for it,” Anderson said. “Just to let the kids have a flat space to kick a soccer ball around is value added. All the flat space in this mountainous area is being used already.”
After surveying the school’s construction site, the team visited a nearby river where an old dam was crumbling and no longer in working order. Locals said the waters rose last year to about 2 meters high, or 6.5 feet.
“The dam would be used to capture the melted snow for agricultural purposes,” said U.S. Navy Lt. Cmdr. Mike Cernuska, the incoming lead engineer for the PRT. “This site doesn’t have the flow power to sustain a hydroelectric dam,” said the Mt. Pleasant, Pa., native.
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| Eastern Afghanistan courts open trials to public |
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NANGARHAR PROVINCE, Afghanistan – The Jalalabad City Primary Court held a public trial Oct. 19, a rarity within Regional Command – East. |
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| Taliban leader killed during Pech River Valley operation |
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KUNAR PROVINCE, Afghanistan – Coalition forces learned that Gul Nabi, a mid-level Taliban commander was killed in an engagement with the combined security forces Oct. 17. |
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| Laghman PRT provides rehabilitation funds for canal, road |
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LAGHMAN PROVINCE, Afghanistan - The Ali Khel Canal Rehabilitation, funded by the Laghman Provincial Reconstruction Team, recently provided irrigation water for 500 hectares of crop land and approximately 500 families in and around Ali Khel village here. |
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| Afghans defend homes, villages |
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KAPISA PROVINCE, Afghanistan – Afghan villagers and coalition forces repelled Taliban forces Oct. 8 in Afghanya Valley during an attack that lasted nearly three hours. |
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