U.S. Soldiers Visit Wardak Province, Afghanistan

Department of Defense Photo Essay

  • U.S. Army 2nd Lt. David Zerzycki talks to the school director and a few teachers in a village school in Jalrez Valley, Wardak province, Afghanistan, March 11, 2009. Zerzycki, assigned to Company A, 2nd Battalion, 87th Infantry Regiment, inspected repairs to the school’s windows. The U.S. combat outpost Apache is based next to the school and military leaders identify local improvement projects. DoD photo by Fred W. Baker III
  • A teacher stands in front of a history lesson written on a chalkboard inside a village school in Jalrez Valley, Wardak province, Afghanistan, March 11, 2009. The school is next to a U.S. combat outpost and troops have been helping by funding renovations. DoD photo by Fred W. Baker III
  • A village school director talks with U.S. military leaders during a visit to a school in Jalrez Valley, Wardak province, Afghanistan, March 11, 2009. The soldiers are assigned to Company A, 2nd Battalion, 87th Infantry Regiment. DoD photo by Fred W. Baker III
  • U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Cody Collins and Spc. Daniel Camino walk across a stream during a village assessment in Jalrez Valley, Wardak province, Afgahnistan, March 12, 2009. The soldiers, assigned to Company A, 2nd Battalion, 87th Infantry Regiment, focus on assessing the villages, talking with local leaders and identifying needed projects. DoD photo by Fred W. Baker III
  • A teacher at a school near the U.S. combat outpost sits as military leaders talk with the school’s director in Jalrez Valley, Wardak province, Afghanistan, March 11, 2009. DoD photo by Fred W. Baker III
  • U.S. Army 2nd Lt. David Zerzycki gives a village school director money for repairs to the school’s windows and ceiling in Jalrez Valley, Wardak province, Afghanistan, March 11, 2009. The combat outpost Apache is based next to the school and military leaders identify local improvement projects. DoD photo by Fred W. Baker III
  • A teacher at a school near the U.S. combat outpost Apache stokes a stove that serves as the main source of heat for the school as military leaders talk with the school’s director in Jalrez Valley, Wardak province, Afghanistan, March 11, 2009. The soldiers are assigned to Company A, 2nd Battalion, 87th Infantry Regiment. DoD photo by Fred W. Baker III
  • School children sit in the window of a village school in Jalrez Valley, Wardak province, Afghanistan, March 11, 2009. The school is next to a U.S. combat outpost and troops have been helping by funding renovations. DoD photo by Fred W. Baker III
  • U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Robert Rios, right, and Pfc. Michael Halter lead a patrol down a mountain during a village assessment in Jalrez Valley, Wardak province, Afghanistan, March 12, 2009. The soldiers are assigned to Company A, 2nd Battalion, 87th Infantry Regiment. DoD photo by Fred W. Baker III
  • A local villager expresses concern for the safety of his child during a meeting with U.S. Army soldiers in a village in Jalrez Valley, Wardak province, Afghanistan, March 12, 2009. Some locals say they fear the soldiers will draw the fight to their area. DoD photo by Fred W. Baker III
  • A local man walks to a meeting with U.S. Army soldiers as they visit his village for the first time in Jalrez Valley, Wardak province, Afghanistan, March 12, 2009. The soldiers are reaching out to the villages in what they call a true counterinsurgency fight to separate those who jeopardize security from those who want peace. DoD photo by Fred W. Baker III
  • U.S. Army Pfc. Michael Halter stands guard during a patrol in a village in Jalrez Valley, Wardak province, Afghanistan, March 12, 2009. U.S. military leaders met with local officials to assess their needs and discuss their concerns over the placement of a combat outpost nearby. DoD photo by Fred W. Baker III
  • U.S. Army Spc. David Helton stands guard during a platoon leaders meeting with tribal elders as local children look on in the village of Jalrez Valley, Wardak province, Afghanistan, March 12, 2009. U.S. military leaders met with local officials to assess their needs and discuss their concerns over the placement of a combat outpost nearby. DoD photo by Fred W. Baker III
  • U.S. Army Spc. Josh Edwards scans for snipers during a patrol in a village in Jalrez Valley, Wardak province, Afghanistan, March 12, 2009. U.S. patrols there focus on assessing village needs and helping rebuild communities. DoD photo by Fred W. Baker III
  • A tribal elder drinks tea during a meeting with U.S. Army soldiers during patrol into a village in Jalrez Valley, Wardak province, Afghanistan, March 12, 2009. DoD photo by Fred W. Baker III
  • U.S. Army Spc. Daniel Camino, left, and Staff Sgt. Cody Collins stop a local boy riding his donkey near a meeting with local leaders in Jalrez Valley, Wardak province, Afghanistan, March 12, 2009. The patrol secures the area for the meeting and is watchful of attacks in one of the most dangerous valleys in the province. DoD photo by Fred W. Baker III
  • U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Robert Rios walks into a village in Jalrez Valley, Wardak province, Afghanistan, March 12, 2009. This was the troops’ first stop in the village as they work their way out from the nearby combat outpost Apache. DoD photo by Fred W. Baker III
  • Tribal leaders listen to U.S. Army soldiers during a visit to a village in Jalrez Valley, Wardak province, Afghanistan, March 12, 2009. DoD photo by Fred W. Baker III
  • Tribal leaders listen to U.S. Army soldiers during a visit to a village in Jalrez Valley, Wardak province, Afghanistan, March 12, 2009. DoD photo by Fred W. Baker III