FRIDAY FOTO (Sept. 3, 2011)

The Things They Carried

(Air Force photo by Senior Airman Grovert Fuentes-Contreras)

U.S. Army Specialist Robert Carabia patrols Qalat City, Afghanistan on Friday (Sept. 2). Carabia, a member of the Massachusetts National Guard, is a rifleman assigned to the Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) Zabul’s security force.

In this photo he appears to be carrying an M249 Squad Automatic Weapon (SAW). The SAW  is a one-man, light machine gun that can fire up to 760 rounds per minute. Two are usually issued to an eight-10–man infantry squad. You can see the SAW’s bi-pod is folded up beneath the barrel. On top there is a handle for carrying the 16.5-pound automatic weapon one-handed.

If you click on the photo to enlarge it, you can see some of the other soldier’s tools he carries: a belt of 5.56 millimeter bullets around his neck, a water bottle on his left side and an automatic pistol tucked into a pocket on his right. He also appears to be carrying shotgun shells in the webbing of his protective vest. We believe the gizmo on his helmet is a sensor, but anybody out there with ground knowledge, feel free to set us straight.

PRT Zabul would not be able to safely venture outside its base (Forward Operating Base Smart) and meet with local Afghan leaders without the security force, known as the SECFOR.

To see a Defense Department photo slideshow of this patrol, click here. You can visit PRT Zabul’s Facebook page by clicking here.

FRIDAY FOTO (June 17, 2011)

A Cry in the Night

U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Brian Ferguson

Air Force Capt. Dawn Russell, a physicians assistant assigned to Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) Zabul, treats an injured Afghan boy while PRT personnel hold flashlights at Forward Operating Base Smart, June 9. The patient was transported to FOB Smart from Zabul Provincial Hospital after an improvised explosive device detonated, injuring two Afghan children. Both were evacuated by helicopter for further medical care.

PRTs, consisting of military officers, diplomats, and experts from U.S. civilian agencies like the departments of State, Agriculture or Justice, work to help  local governments to govern their constituents more effectively.

FRIDAY FOTO (April 22, 2011)

It’s 2011, Not 1120 A.D.

U.S. ir Force photo by Staff Sgt. Brian Ferguson.

The carpets, mud walls, beards and turbans … except for the plastic water bottles, the occasional wristwatch and — oh yeah, the machine guns and sandbags on the guard posts in the corners — it wouldn’t be hard to imagine this scene in 12th Century Afghanistan instead of the 21st Century.

With all the high tech attack and surveillance drones, satellite and wireless communication, Kevlar body armor and mine resistant vehicles in use by coalition forces, it’s easy to forget the conflict in Afghanistan is largely an infantry exercise. It’s also important to remember that success  in any counter insurgency effort includes working with the local people.

Troopers from the 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment, assigned to Provincial Reconstruction Team Zabul, attended a shura, or consultive decision-making gathering, April 20 in Now Bahar District, in Zabul Province, not far from the Pakistani border. The 2nd Cavalry is one of the oldest regiments in the U.S. Army.

In this photo, residents of Now Bahar District listen as Zabul Deputy Gov. Mohammad Jan Rasulyaar speaks during the shura at the district center.

To view a Defense Department slide show of the shura, click here.

(Don’t forget to click on the photo to see a larger image.)

FRIDAY FOTO (Feb. 11, 2011)

Counter Insurgency, One Shoe at a Time

(Defense Dept. photo by Staff Sgt. Brian Ferguson, U.S. Air Force)

U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Manuel Delarosa finds a pair of shoes for a young girl while helping Afghan National Security Forces distribute winter supplies at Safidar village in southern Afghanistan.  Delarosa is assigned to the Provincial Reconstruction Team Zabul, Shinkai Detachment.

Zabul Province, once a Taliban stronghold near the Pakistani border, has seen more than its share of troubles in recent years.

To see more photos of the Provincial Reconstruction Team’s visit, click here.