[longknife]

Posted by Bill ArdolinoFebruary 18, 2013 9:35 AM

US Army Captain Andrew Jenkins of Ventura, Calif., troop commander with Troop B, 1st Squadron, 33rd Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), scans the remote village of Kote Kheyl in the valley below while on a security patrol in Khost province, Afghanistan, Jan. 31. 2013. Troop B is tasked with training and mentoring the ANA and AUP to take over security operations in Afghanistan. US Army Photo by Staff Sergeant Zach Holden, 115th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment.

Read more: http://www.longwarjournal.org/photos/20 ... 28Site-Wid e%29%29&utm_content=Google+Reader#ixzz2LGRpDV2U

Taking a long look at this pictures does two things to me; makes me glad I never served in a hell hole like this and increased my respect and admiration for the men and women who do.

[Sithsaber]

1. The place seems oddly majestic in its sense of scale.

2. The morale is at a long time low, most people have a major disconnect between how they view the troops and how the troops view the troops.

[Lexington]

It looks like New Mexico to me.

[Kaiserschmarrn]

I find the landscape rather beautiful, does not remind me of a hell hole at all.

Of course, I realise the working conditions are not the best there ...

[Far-Right Sage]

Small town Ohio could appear to be hell if a Red Dawn-esque scenario played out and war descended on it, as can any seemingly idyllic place in the world. It of course doesn't render anything about the unlucky locale ghastly or hellish under normal conditions.

Of course, for Afghanistan ever since the monarchy fell apart, war has in effect been normality.

It is still one of the more beautiful lands in Central Asia, and one I wished I could have gotten a chance to visit at some point; another time, another life.

[Franker65]

The landscape is stunning - Afghanistan was a very popular destination for skiing in the 1960s. Sad that there are soldiers patrolling these mountain tops instead of tourists hiking. And extremely difficult terrain for soldiering - the men and women serving there certainly have my respect.