AFGHANISTAN. South of Garmsir, Helmand. 2009. Marines swim in an irrigation canal at their outpost in Helmand Province. Moments of leisure
were a welcome break for the embattled troops operating in one of the most dangerous parts of
Afghanistan. Taliban-controlled territory was all around them. The day this picture was taken,
a patrol from another base a few kilometers down the road encountered an IED. One of the
soldiers was blown into a canal and disappeared. The rest of the platoon found parts of his body
but not his torso. They searched until well after midnight, and began again at dawn to find the
rest of the pieces.