http://gallery.pictopia.com/providerasset/1/pictopia_logo.pnghttp://gallery.pictopia.com/providerasset/1/pictopia_logo.pnghttp://gallery.pictopia.com/stripes/gallery/93679/2011-09-04T10:18:59Z2011-09-04T10:18:59ZLaura Rauchhttp://gallery.pictopia.com/stripes/gallery/93679/photo/9635218/

August 11, 2011 -- AFGHANISTAN -- Company C Commander Capt. Dennis Call walks past a destroyed M-ATV while a member of the Explosive Ordnance Disposal team looks in the cab following an improved explosive device attack that killed five soldiers near Combat Outpost Nalgham in Afghanistan on August 11, 2011. Laura Rauch © Stars and Stripes

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August 11, 2011 -- AFGHANISTAN -- Soldiers from Company C and Scout Platoon, 1st Battalion, 32nd Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division salute as soldiers killed in an improved explosive device strike are flown from Combat Outpost Nalgham to Kandahar Air Field in Afghanistan. Laura Rauch © Stars and Stripes

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August 11, 2011 -- NALGHAM, AFGHANISTAN -- Soldiers from Company C and Scout Platoon, 1st Battalion, 32nd Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division evacuate a soldier following an improvised explosive device attack near Combat Outpost Nalgham, Afghanistan. Laura Rauch © Stars and Stripes

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May 20, 2011 -- Spc. Patrick Lay, center celebrates a touchdown with 3rd platoon leader Sgt. 1st Class Joseph Moore, left, and Spc. Marcel Lydford during a game of touch football at Combat Out Post Nalgham, Afghanistan. Laura Rauch ©Stars and Stripes

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June 8, 2011 -- Afghanistan -- Marine Sgt. Randy Williamson and an interpreter speak with the son of a local mullah with whom the Marines have forged a relationship. The mullah, however, was out for the morning, and the Marines continued their early morning patrol in search of other locals to talk with. Matt Millham ©Stars and Stripes

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June 2011 -- Afghanistan -- During a recent patrol in the Baraki Rajan bazaar in Logar province, 1st. Lt. Patrick McGrath was accosted by a teenager who demanded to know why non-Muslims were in his country. "We're here because we want to help provide security in Afghanistan," McGrath replied. Martin Kuz © Stars and Stripes

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June 2011 -- Afghanistan -- Spc. Darren Boerl chats with the owner of a pharmacy in the Baraki Rajan bazaar in Logar province, Afghanistan, during a recent weekday patrol. Martin Kuz ©Stars and Stripes

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June 2011 -- Afghanistan -- Spc. Darren Boerl, middle, talks with a merchant in the Baraki Rajan bazaar in Logar province with the help of an Afghan interpreter during a recent weekday patrol. Martin Kuz ©Stars and Stripes

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May 2011 -- Afghanistan -- A small boy extends his hand to Marine Sgt. Randy Williamson, a team leader from Stroudsburg, Pa., as he chats with a groom before his wedding in a small village north of Musa Qala's district center. The Marines conduct regular patrols to deter Taliban activity, to give a sense of security to the locals, and to build the population's trust in the Marines, who are engaged in a fierce contest with insurgents for the hearts and minds of the people. Matt Millham © Stars and Stripes

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May 2011 -- Afghanistan -- Lance Cpl. Jeremy Reckner, a squad automatic weapon gunner with Company I, 3rd Battalion, 2nd Marines, shakes hands with a local boy while on patrol in a village a few miles north of Musa Qala's district center. Matt Millham © Stars and Stripes

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May 27, 2011 -- Afghanistan -- An Afghan National Army soldier rests along with Marines during an early morning patrol in a small village north of Musa Qala's district center. The Afghan Army has only a small presence north of the district center, and until recently didn't engage civilians while patrolling. The Marines of Company I, 3rd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment are teaching the Afghan troops better ways to operate and build confidence among locals in their country's security forces. Matt Millham © Stars and Stripes

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May 27, 2011 -- Afghanistan -- Small girls stop playing near a pile of poppy bulbs to watch a patrol of U.S. Marines walk through their neighborhood. Matt Millham © Stars and Stripes

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May 27, 2011 -- Afghanistan -- Marines of Company I, 3rd Battalion 2nd Marines return to base after an early morning patrol to engage with locals. Matt Millham/Stars and Stripes

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June 6, 2011 -- Afghanistan -- Defense Secretary Robert Gates presents awards for valorous actions to members of the the 506th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, at Forward Operating Base Sharana in Paktika province, Afghanistan. Laura Rauch © Stars and Stripes

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June 6, 2011 -- Afghanistan -- Defense Secretary Robert Gates presents a Department of Defense coin to a soldier with the 506th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, at Forward Operating Base Sharana in Paktika province, Afghanistan. Laura Rauch © Stars and Stripes

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June 6, 2011 -- Afghanistan -- Defense Secretary Robert Gates speaks to members of the the 506th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, at Forward Operating Base Sharana in Paktika province, Afghanistan. Laura Rauch © Stars and Stripes

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June 6, 2011 -- Afghanistan -- Defense Secretary Robert Gates meets with members of the 506th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, at Forward Operating Base Sharana in Paktika province, Afghanistan. Laura Rauch © Stars and Stripes Laura Rauch/Stars and Stripes

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May 21, 2011 -- Spc. Patrick Lay sits on a vehicle as the sun sets over Combat Outpost Nalgham, Afghanistan. Laura Rauch ©Stars and Stripes

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May 2011 -- AFGHANISTAN -- First Lt. Cody McBroom, left, and members of his platoon with the 2nd Battalion, 30th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team of the 10th Mountain Division, on patrol in the Charkh District bazaar in late May. Martin Kuz ©Stars and Stripes

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May 16, 2011 -- Pfc. Jeremy Urzua hands a piece of candy to a boy in the village of Sarkilla at Strong Point Dennis near Combat Outpost Nalgham, Afghanistan, after using ground penetrating radar to sweep for improvised explosive devices. Laura Rauch ©Stars and Stripes

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May 2011 -- Sgt. Blaine Zimmerman walks through a wheat field during a mission near Strong Point Dennis at Combat Outpost Nalgham, Afghanistan. Laura Rauch ©Stars and Stripes

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May 9, 2011 -- Pfc. Dustin Bradley smokes a cigarette while manning Strong Point Dennis near Combat Outpost Nalgham. Laura Rauch ©Stars and Stripes

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May 16, 2011 -- Capt. Dennis Call, right, and Afghan National Army Commander Lt. Zbuir Amure, center, speak to men from the village of Sarkilla at the entrance of Combat Outpost Nalgham. Laura Rauch ©Stars and Stripes

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May 16, 2011 -- Capt. Dennis Call, left, and Afghan National Army Commander Lt. Zbuir Amure speak to a brickmaker about building a community center and school in the village of Sarkilla at Strong Point Dennis near Combat Outpost Nalgham, Afghanistan.

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PEDS005 JOINT BASE BALAD, IRAQ 12 Feb. 10 Seth Robbins/Stars and Stripes Capt. Meredith Sarda, a pediatrician at the Air Force Theater hospital, holds Tarik's hand as he walks down the hallway. Tarik, 3, stumbled into a fire about three months ago, which left second and third degree burns on more than half of his body. A team of doctors at the hospital treated Tarik, grafting healthy skin onto his wounds.

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PEDS006 JOINT BASE BALAD, IRAQ 12 Feb. 10 Seth Robbins/Stars and Stripes Tarik, 3, kicks a soccer ball with the help of Capt. Meredith Sarda, the pediatrician at the Air Force Theater Hospital. The game of soccer is part ofTarik's recuperation from burning about 55 percent of his body nearly three months ago. The severe burns left Tarik's skin and tendons very stiff, and it is only recently that he has been able to walk again.

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PEDS004 JOINT BASE BALAD, IRAQ 12 Feb. 10 Seth Robbins/Stars and Stripes Capt. Meredith Sarda, the pediatrician at the Air Force Theater hospital, holds up 3-year-old Tarik, who arrived at the hospital with severe burns to his arms, legs and face. Doctors were not sure the boy would live, but after several surgeries to repair his burnt skin, Tarik started to recover. Last week, he took his first steps, and now his father looks forward to taking him home from the hospital.

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MAY 2011 -- Sgt. Peter Melcon, left, who was injured by enemy indirect fire while building Patrol Base Salaam Bazaar plays cards with fellow Marines after returning to duty. Matt Millham ©Stars and Stripes

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MAY 6, 2011 -- Marine Capt. Mike Regner buys a watermelon at Nawa's main bazaar on Friday. The Marines are paying to refurbish a large part of the bazaar at a cost of $200,000. Last year, they spent $200,000 to build a new row of shop stalls across the way from this stall using CERP, or commander's emergency response program funds, which are generally used for quick-impact projects. Matt Millham ©Stars and Stripes

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May 31, 2011 - AFGHANISTAN - Capt. Josh O'Dor, right, of the 2nd Battalion, 30th Infantry Regiment of the 10th Mountain Division listens to tribal elders during an informal shura last week in the village of Kor Jalal, located in southern Logar province. Martin Kuz ©Stars and Stripes

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May 28, 2011-- Squad leader Sgt. Kyle Ashton looks out from a tent at Combat Outpost Nalgham, Afghanistan. Ashton and other members of Scout platoon fought off attackers after their convoy was attacked in Kandahar province. Laura Rauch ©Stars and Stripes

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May 2011, AFGHANISTAN -- A Marine walks through a field of wheat soon to be harvested while returning from a foot patrol to insert snipers who were to reconnoiter an area south of Patrol Base Mirage, headquarters of 3rd Platoon, Company K, 3rd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment. Matt Millham ©Stars and Stripes

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May 2011 -- AFGHANISTAN -- A girl runs past a Marine near the Chaghali village bazaar during a foot patrol to insert snipers who were to reconnoiter an area south of Patrol Base Mirage, headquarters of 3rd Platoon, Company K, 3rd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment. Matt Millham ©Stars and Stripes

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MAY 2011 -- AFGHANISTAN -- A Marine hands out gum to local children in the Chaghali bazaar during a foot patrol to insert snipers who were to reconnoiter an area south of Patrol Base Mirage, headquarters of 3rd Platoon, Company K, 3rd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment. Matt Millham ©Stars and Stripes

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MAY 2011 - AFGHANISTAN -- Marines toss bottles of water dropped off by a supply convoy into empty Hesco barriers used to store supplies at Patrol Base Salaam Bazaar. Marines established the base May 16 by building a perimeter of Hesco barriers, wire and fabric baskets typically filled with rock and sand. By Thursday they had added a bunker and only the barest of amenities, including two outhouse stalls, tubes to urinate into, a space for showering and few tents. Matt Millham ©Stars and Stripes

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welcome home tab enw24OP-02 TAHWEELA, IRAQ 20 Feb 09 Ben Bloker/Stars and Stripes Soldiers from 1st Platoon, Company A, Task Force 3-66 Armor, and the Iraqi army wait through gusting winds before heading out on patrol in February in the village of Tahweela, Iraq. The IA, supported by soldiers from Company A, kicked off Operation Dark Wolf Pursuit One to execute the "clear, hold and build" strategy in the southern Balad-Ruz District of Iraq's Diyala province. Task Force 3-66 Armor is deployed from Grafenwoehr, Germany.

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PEDS002 JOINT BASE BALAD, IRAQ 12 Feb. 10 Seth Robbins/Stars and Stripes Tarik, 3, plays with a soccer ball. The boy arrived at the Air Force Theater hospital nearly three months ago, with severe burns to his legs, arms and face after stumbling into a fire. It's not just the roadside bombs and stray bullets that make it dangerous to be a child in Iraq. Fires abound for cooking and bathing and children often arrive at the hospital with severe burns, said Capt. Meredith Sarda, the pediatrician at the hospital.

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61p bs MAY 5, 2011, AFGHANISTAN — Army Secretary John McHugh, left, speaks Thursday with ISAF Regional Command-South commander, Maj. Gen. James Terry while visiting Forward Operating Base Pasab.

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enw05route06 By Heath Druzin/Stripes Staff Sgt. Eric Madsen, 26, of Newportville, Pa., negotiates a sewage-filled creek after checking a culvert for bombs in Kandahar.

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May 22, 2010 -- An Afghan police officer holds poppy seeds found in a compound in the village of Deh-e-Kuchay, in the Arghandab valley in southern Afghanistan's Kandahar province. Although police found about 80 pounds of poppy seed, a bag of spent AK-47 shell casings and nearly 100 pounds of banned ammonium nitrate fertilizer, which is often used to make bombs, the police declined to take the man into custody. U.S. troops in the area say that reluctance on the part of the police to detain villagers suspected of working with the Taliban often undermines their efforts to improve security in the Arghandab valley. May 22, 2010. Drew Brown ©Stars and Stripes

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May 22, 2010 -- Staff Sgt. Erik Adams, of Company B, 2nd Battalion, 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment, talks to a man about banned ammonium nitrate fertilizer found in a compound in the village of Deh-e-Kuchay, in the Arghandab valley of southern Afghanistan's Kandahar province. The fertilizer is illegal because Taliban insurgents often use it to make bombs. Afghan police dumped the fertilizer into a nearby canal. May 22, 2010. Drew Brown ©Stars and Stripes

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May 22, 2010 -- Staff Sgt. Erik Adams of Company B, 2nd Battalion, 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment, checks a man's profile against photos of wanted Taliban suspects in the village of Deh-e-Kuchay, in the Arghandab valley of southern Afghanistan's Kandahar province. May 22, 2010. Drew Brown ©Stars and Stripes

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May 22, 2010 -- A man in the village of Deh-e-Kuchay, in the Arghandab valley of southern Afghanistan's Kandahar province, holds up his calloused hands in an effort to prove that he's a farmer and not a Taliban fighter as Staff Sgt. Erik Adams, of Company B, 2nd Battalion, 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment checks out photos on a list of wanted Taliban suspects. May 22, 2010. Drew Brown ©Stars and Stripes

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May 22, 2010 -- An Afghan police officer stands with a AK-47 rifle and grenade launcher propped on his shoulder in the village of Deh-e-Kuchay, in the Arghandab valley of southern Afghanistan's Kandahar province. May 22, 2010. Drew Brown ©Stars and Stripes

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May 22, 2010 -- As Staff Sgt. Erik Adams, a soldier with Company B, 2nd Battalion, 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment, looks on, an interpreter questions a man about opium seed, a bag of spent AK-47 bullet casings and banned ammonium nitrate fertilizer found in his compound in the village of Deh-e-Kuchay, in the Arghandab valley of southern Afghanistan's Kandahar province. May 22, 2010. Drew Brown ©Stars and Stripes

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May 22, 2010 -- An Afghan girl eyes a U.S. soldier apprehensively as U.S. forces and Afghan police search her family's compound in the village of Deh-e-Kuchay, in the Arghandab valley of southern Afghanistan's Kandahar province. May 22, 2010. Drew Brown ©Stars and Stripes

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June 9, 2010 -- A grandiose mansion looms over a street in Kabul's Sherpur neighborhood, where the gaudy homes are known as "poppy palaces" because many were built on profits from the opium trade. Dianna Cahn ©Stars and Stripes

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June 9, 2010 -- Guards sit watch outside a mansion in Kabul's Sherpur neighborhood on June 9. The Sherpur mansions are known as "poppy palaces" because many were built on profits from the opium trade. Dianna Cahn ©Stars and Stripes

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June 9, 2010 -- Grandiose houses of rich and powerful officials and warlords loom over the mud huts of ordinary Afghans in Kabul's Sherpur neighborhood. The houses are known as "poppy palaces" because many were built on profits from the opium trade.

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June 9, 2010 -- Children push a cart of tomatoes in the Kabul Fruit Market on June 9. Vendors complain that they must pay bribes to government officials to stay in business. Dianna Cahn ©Stars and Stripes

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