That's how this country has been described: “the most beautiful ugly place.”
Soldiers have seen too much of it; travelers haven’t seen enough.
In the backdrop is a land that remains a mystery to outsiders – harsh, shrouded in secrets, frozen in time.
An ancient land we donít understand, in a war many say we can't afford to lose.
Trips outside wire are usually taken in armored vehicles, bullet-proof glass on an MRAP (Mine Resistant Ambush Protected) shows the scars of an attack.
Life goes on in remote villages like Ghandak much as it has for centuries. This settlement of herders and wheat farmers in the northern part of the country has no electricity, no running water, no school and no record keeping. When asked, this shepherd boy was uncertain of his own age as Bill McCullough provides security for the outsiders.
A member of Afghanistanís struggling security forces leans exhausted on the wall of a school in Marjah next to bullet holes left by Taliban extremists.
Bill "Mac" McCullough listens to a village leader discuss conditions at a bazaar in southern Afghanistan. Decades of war and countless broken promises have instilled Afghans with a survival-of-the-fittest mentality. They are reluctant to trust anyone, their own government, the coalition, the insurgency or one another.
On a dramatic landscape carved by ancient glaciers, a shepherd grazes his flock toward home in Balkh province, Afghanistan.
Cultures collide when the Marmal team heads up into the mountains to make contact with a remote village – a trek that turns grueling in terrain that crumbles beneath the weight of armored SUVs.
Amy Bursell totes the "Mission Monkey" to lighten things up in Afghanistan. As a social scientist with the Human Terrain System, she tries to get to know the people. "The military has the brains to do this work," she says, "but not the bodies."
Students buy popsicles from a man selling them through the gate of a schoolyard. Boys and girls attend classes in separate shifts. Classrooms are crowded. Books supplies and teachers are scarce.
Marine officer and a translator talk to local leaders after shura – held to discuss community concerns in Marjah, Afghanistan.
An Afghan student at a German-built school in Maser-e-Sharif, Balkh province, Afghanistan.
Driving is a dangerous undertaking in Afghanistan, the world's epicenter of terrorism. Whenever he can get a seat, Bill ìMacî McCullough, bounces around the country on military flights.
Elders pray during a meeting – or shura – held to discuss community concerns in Marjah, Afghanistan.
At the dedication of a new government center in Helmand, Afghan police nap on a bed that is inexplicably placed on the porch. Instilling discipline into local security forces has been a challenge for coalition trainers.
On the back bay of Helo, a gunner looks over the terrain of central Helmand Province, the last Taliban stronghold in central Helmand Province.
A marine stands guard during patrol through a city. Driving is a dangerous undertaking in Afghanistan, an epicenter of global terrorism.
Marjah’s elders pray during the dedication of a new government center. Religion and politics are one and the same in Afghanistan, where no law can be passed that’s contrary to Islam. It’s one of the many cultural idiosyncrasies that make the country seem so foreign to modern-day Westerners.
Missing limbs are a given in a country full of IEDs. At left, 7-year-old amputee Najibullah and his lone surviving brother examine a prosthetic foot worn by a man at a shura.
Two US Marines find a Wi-Fi hot spot under a blast wall at Camp Dwyer in southern Afghanistan. Temperatures can reach 120 degrees at the base. Coupled with a punishing wind and swirling dust, outside conditions are almost unbearable during the day.
A marine watches Disney animation after returning from a battle. Camp Hansen offers few luxuries and little entertainment. Movies on laptops offer an escape from the monotony.
"Hell, man." That's what U.S. Marines call Afghanistan's Helmand province. At Camp Hansen in Marjah, life is sweaty and accommodations are lean. A row of PVC pipes driven into the ground serve as urinals. But the camp is not completely without beauty. The desert night delivers a glittering canopy of stars that drape down to the horizon.
The Marines inside this IED-damaged vehicle - known as an MATV - survived a blast. The vehicle was hauled back to Camp Hansen.
The dog tags of fallen Marines hang from a sign to form a simple memorial at Camp Dwyer in Southern Afghanistan. The dog tags have been collected since October 2009. The picture was taken Thursday, June 3, 2010. (Hyunsoo Leo Kim / The Virginian-Pilot)
Work and heat take a toll. Lance Cpl., Anthony Antonich, falls asleep inside an MRAP while waiting for his convoy to roll in Marjah, Afghanistan.