FRIDAY FOTO (February 10, 2012)

I’m Batman

Photo by U.S. Navy Petty Officer Petty Officer 2nd Class Jon Rasmussen

No, it’s not really Batman and some of his high tech crime-fighting gadgets descending on a frozen valley in Afghanistan. But these dark parachute canopies do bear a resemblance to the Dark Knight’s cape as they near the ground. The rugged mountains provide a pretty striking background, too.

This photo shows a member of the coalition special operations forces approaching pallets of supplies on an all terrain vehicle in the snow during an airdrop in the Shah Joy district in Afghanistan’s Zabul province on Jan. 25. The ATV is just part of a motley group of vehicles (see photo below) including one of the smaller MRAPs (Mine Resistant Ambush Protected truck) and what looks remarkably like the golf carts security guards use to patrol the perimeters of large facilities like industrial plants and airfields.

Defense Dept. photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Jon Rasmussen, U.S. Navy

Zabul is in southeast Afghanistan near the Pakistan border. Afghan and coalition (United Nations International Security Assistance Forces) have been active in the area.