Jack Gruber

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  • A hired van from Bamiyan, Afghanistan heading to the mountain town of Yawkalang is stuck in the mud along the high mountain single track primitave road recently demined by international mine clearing teams.  Some of the last fighting during the Afghan civil war took place when the Taliban capturing Bamiyan and Yawkalang late in September 1998 with heavy mine laying campaigns conducted in the region.  With winter conditions making the roads nearly impossible to drive except by four wheel drive vehicles, straying off the narrow road will put the travelers in jeopardy from mines which have not been cleared from the sides of the roads and other roads not yet demined.<br />
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Road repair projects sponsored by foreign aid groups providing money or food for work, pay for local men and boys equipped with pick axes and shovels attempting to manage snow and ice covered roads from 8000 feet up and over the Shatoo Pass at 13,500 feet. <br />
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Workers from neighboring villages walk for hours to work along the road leading from the central highlands of the Afghanistan village of Yawkalang--nearly 80 km west of Bamiyan--to the top of the 13,500 foot Shatoo Pass and work in the snow attempting to keep the primitive dirt/mud road open though the winter for the first time in recorded history.  Afghan President Hamid Karzai has promised the country that road improvements are a main priority but with limited funding to repair and maintain roads--nearly all unpaved--that have been destroyed by years of war, progress could take years.
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  • Rozia, 11, along the paths of The Village of Anbar Somuch 25 kilometers west of Bamiyan in central Afghanistan.   (PHOTO BY JACK GRUBER/USA Today)
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  • 5/12/07 -- Afghanistan -- JALALABAD, Afghanistan -- UNOPS (United Nations Office of Special Projects) construction supervisor Ben Akari, right, pauses just for a moment while moving at a fast pace so his UNOPS security detail can catch their breath just before entering the village of Karmakhell while  walking along the irrigated waterways along poppy fields bordering the 26 mile road project funded by USAID while checking on construction progress of the UNOPS road project which he does every day on foot. Akari, a former elite New Zealand army Special Air Service (SAS) engineer walks and talks with the construction workers on most of the southern section in the most dangerous and remote section of the road project which starts at the base of the Tora Bora Mountains. Akari prefers to walk so the locals know and respect that he is there everyday watching the progress and doesn't loose any control of the project. Akari has been the target of at least one IED (improvised explosive device) explosion on the road, threatened with kidnapping and death in the highly dense poppy growing region.   The U.S. is spending hundreds of millions of dollars to build roads in Afghanistan on the theory, as Lt. Gen. Karl Eikenberry says, that "where the road ends, the Taliban begins." The US-funded effort to build a 26-mile road through the heart of Taliban country near Jalalabad has become a metaphor for troubled U.S. campaign to bring peace and stability to Afghanistan. A road would get farm produce to market before spoiling, sick and injured Afghans to hospitals before they die. It would improve education and social services. But the international engineering team in charge has confronted roadside bombs, a hired killer, angry mobs, opium traffickers and corrupt local officials. Several people working on the project have been killed, others have fled the country. The project has been scaled from 26 miles to 18 miles, and it is weeks behind schedule. Now it's unclear wheth
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  • 8/22/09 2:39:11 AM -- Kabul, Afghanistan<br />
 -- Elections in Afghanistan -- Afghan Presidential candidate Dr. Abdullah Abdullah in a sitting room at his home in Kabul talking of what he is calling election fraud and vote fixing conducted on behalf of Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai. Abdullah pointed out many voting irregularities most notable in Kandahar, President Karzai's home region.<br />
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Photo by Jack Gruber, USA TODAY Staff
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  • 8/22/09 2:39:11 AM -- Kabul, Afghanistan<br />
 -- Elections in Afghanistan -- Afghan Presidential candidate Dr. Abdullah Abdullah in a sitting room at his home in Kabul talking of what he is calling election fraud and vote fixing conducted on behalf of Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai. Abdullah pointed out many voting irregularities most notable in Kandahar, President Karzai's home region.<br />
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Photo by Jack Gruber, USA TODAY Staff
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  • Banned during Taliban regime. The national sport of Buzkashi is back and horsemen are competing throughout Afghanistan.<br />
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The Afghan traditional sport of Buzkashi played in Kabul in Ghazni Stadium. Exclusively Afghan, Buzkashi as it is played today. The tradition goes back as far as time of Alexander the Genghis Khan. Mongol horsemen were adapt at advancing swiftly on enemy camp sites and without dismounting, swooping up sheep, goats and other pillage at full gallop.  In retaliation, the inhabitants of northern Afghanistan established a mounted defense against these raids and this practice is the direct forebearer of today's Buzkashi. Buzkashi demands the highest degree of horsemenship, courage and physical strenghth from the participants.<br />
The chapandaz (rider) is only half of the game. For centuries, northern Afghanistan breeds horses of exceptional endurance and speed crucial ingredients for Buzkashi.
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  • 9/7/10 1:08:56 AM -- -- <br />
1st Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, Weapons Company, LCPL John Fankboner, 23, reading a book via a headlamp before falling asleep in the heat and under stars at the remote outpost Kunjak near Musa Qala, Helmand Province, Afghanistan. Fankboner has been in an armored vehicle near or hit by at least three IED's (Improvised Explosive Devices) while deployed in Helmand, Afghanistan.<br />
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Photo by Jack Gruber, USA TODAY Staff
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  • 8/24/09 12:51:27 AM -- Kabul, Afghanistan<br />
 -- Afghan Army Air Corps Mentors in Afghanistan -- Mentors--<br />
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Photo by Jack Gruber, USA TODAY Staff
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  • 8/24/09 2:58:54 AM -- Kabul, Afghanistan<br />
 -- Afghan Army Air Corps Mentors in Afghanistan -- Afghan Air Corps pilots Lt. Saeed Fazil , right, laughs as General Amin Jan, center, of the Afghan 377th Rotary Wing Squadron jokes about pulling a tooth along with mentor USAF TSgt. Ty Kobza, while waiting for repairs to be completed on their Mi-17 helicopter in the northern Afghan town of Fayzabad.--<br />
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Photo by Jack Gruber, USA TODAY Staff
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  • 9/7/10 1:08:56 AM -- -- <br />
1st Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, Charlie Company, weapons company marines spending time arm wrestling at night in the darkness with the Afghan National Police also manning the remote outpost Kunjak near Musa Qala, Helmand Province, Afghanistan in the daytime heat of Helmand Province.<br />
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Photo by Jack Gruber, USA TODAY Staff
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  • 9/7/10 1:08:56 AM -- -- <br />
1st Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, Charlie Company, 1st platoon Sgt. John Ellis meeting with local elders from the local villages at the remote outpost Kunjak near Musa Qala, Helmand Province, Afghanistan in the daytime heat of Helmand Province after Ellis met locals a day earlier who complained and were concerned about a NATO air strike called in by the marines to combat Taliban fighters firing on the marines from a compound a few days earlier.<br />
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Photo by Jack Gruber, USA TODAY Staff
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  • 9/7/10 1:08:56 AM -- -- <br />
1st Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, Charlie Company, 1st platoon LCPL Dimitry Bludov working out in a makeshift gym at the marines remote outpost Kunjak near Musa Qala, Helmand Province, Afghanistan in the daytime heat of Helmand Province.<br />
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Photo by Jack Gruber, USA TODAY Staff
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  • 9/7/10 1:08:56 AM -- -- <br />
1st Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, Charlie Company, 1st platoon Sgt. John Ellis, center, sitting with a local Afghan National Police commander and another policeman inside the only hardened structure on the remote outpost the ANP  occupy along with the Marines near Musa Qala, Helmand Province, Afghanistan in the daytime heat of Helmand Province.<br />
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Photo by Jack Gruber, USA TODAY Staff
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  • 9/7/10 1:08:56 AM -- -- <br />
1st Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, Charlie Company, 1st platoon Sgt. John Ellis shaving in a broken mirror along the barriers of the remote outpost Kunjak near Musa Qala, Helmand Province, Afghanistan in the daytime heat of Helmand Province.<br />
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Photo by Jack Gruber, USA TODAY Staff
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  • 9/8/10 1:47:11 AM -- -- <br />
1st Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, Charlie Company, 1st platoon medic U.S. NAVY HM3 Adam Smith, right, playing a video game against marine LCPL Matthew Dickens in the early morning hours at the remote outpost Kunjak near Musa Qala, Helmand Province, Afghanistan. <br />
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Photo by Jack Gruber, USA TODAY Staff
    gruber_standalones35848.JPG
  • 9/8/10 1:47:11 AM -- -- <br />
An man on a motorcycle is stopped by 1st Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, Charlie Company, 1st Platoon Sgt. John Ellis as marines conduct checks near where marines had taken fire just days earlier near the platoons remote outpost Kunjak near Musa Qala, Helmand Province, Afghanistan. <br />
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Photo by Jack Gruber, USA TODAY Staff
    gruber_standalones35845.JPG
  • 9/7/10 1:08:56 AM -- -- <br />
1st Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, Charlie Company, 1st platoon Sgt. John Ellis meeting with local elders from the local villages at the remote outpost Kunjak near Musa Qala, Helmand Province, Afghanistan in the daytime heat of Helmand Province after Ellis met locals a day earlier who complained and concerned about a NATO air strike called in by the marines to combat Taliban fighters firing on the marines from a compound a few days earlier.<br />
<br />
Photo by Jack Gruber, USA TODAY Staff
    gruber_standalones35843.JPG
  • 9/8/10 1:47:11 AM -- -- <br />
An man on a motorcycle is stopped by 1st Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, Charlie Company, 1st Platoon Sgt. John Ellis as marines conduct checks near where marines had taken fire just days earlier near the platoons remote outpost Kunjak near Musa Qala, Helmand Province, Afghanistan. <br />
<br />
Photo by Jack Gruber, USA TODAY Staff
    gruber_standalones35841.JPG
  • 9/7/10 1:08:56 AM -- -- <br />
1st Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, Charlie Company, 1st platoon LCPL's Brandon Raddatz, left, Matthew Dickens, center, and Dimitry Bludov, right, share in a care package sent by the brother of Dickens as the squad received a welcomed shipment of mail and packages from home to the marines remote outpost Kunjak near Musa Qala, Helmand Province, Afghanistan in the daytime heat of Helmand Province.<br />
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Photo by Jack Gruber, USA TODAY Staff
    gruber_standalones35836.JPG
  • 9/8/10 1:47:11 AM -- -- <br />
1st Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, marines on post in the early morning hours at the remote outpost Kunjak near Musa Qala, Helmand Province, Afghanistan. <br />
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Photo by Jack Gruber, USA TODAY Staff
    gruber_standalones35835.JPG
  • 9/8/10 1:47:11 AM -- -- <br />
1st Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, Charlie Company, 1st Platoon Sgt. John Ellis listens as Afghan National Police warn and talk to a man along with his small boys in their compound from where Marines had taken fire just days earlier near the platoons remote outpost Kunjak near Musa Qala, Helmand Province, Afghanistan. <br />
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Photo by Jack Gruber, USA TODAY Staff
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  • 9/8/10 1:47:11 AM -- -- <br />
1st Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, Charlie Company, 1st Platoon Sgt. John Ellis listens as Afghan National Police warn and talk to a man along with his small boys in their compound from where Marines had taken fire just days earlier near the platoons remote outpost Kunjak near Musa Qala, Helmand Province, Afghanistan. <br />
<br />
Photo by Jack Gruber, USA TODAY Staff
    gruber_standalones35846.JPG
  • 8/24/09 6:39:19 AM -- Kabul, Afghanistan<br />
 -- Afghan Army Air Corps Mentors in Afghanistan -- Mentors--<br />
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Photo by Jack Gruber, USA TODAY Staff
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  • 8/24/09 6:37:26 AM -- Kabul, Afghanistan<br />
 -- Afghan Army Air Corps Mentors in Afghanistan -- Mentors--<br />
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Photo by Jack Gruber, USA TODAY Staff
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  • 8/24/09 6:00:27 AM -- Kabul, Afghanistan<br />
 -- Afghan Army Air Corps Mentors in Afghanistan -- Mentors--<br />
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Photo by Jack Gruber, USA TODAY Staff
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  • 8/24/09 5:57:51 AM -- Kabul, Afghanistan<br />
 -- Afghan Army Air Corps Mentors in Afghanistan -- Mentors--<br />
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Photo by Jack Gruber, USA TODAY Staff
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  • 8/24/09 5:57:30 AM -- Kabul, Afghanistan<br />
 -- Afghan Army Air Corps Mentors in Afghanistan -- Mentors--<br />
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Photo by Jack Gruber, USA TODAY Staff
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  • 8/24/09 5:57:27 AM -- Kabul, Afghanistan<br />
 -- Afghan Army Air Corps Mentors in Afghanistan -- Mentors--<br />
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Photo by Jack Gruber, USA TODAY Staff
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  • 8/24/09 5:57:16 AM -- Kabul, Afghanistan<br />
 -- Afghan Army Air Corps Mentors in Afghanistan -- Mentors--<br />
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Photo by Jack Gruber, USA TODAY Staff
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  • 8/24/09 5:57:16 AM -- Kabul, Afghanistan<br />
 -- Afghan Army Air Corps Mentors in Afghanistan -- Mentors--<br />
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Photo by Jack Gruber, USA TODAY Staff
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  • 8/24/09 5:23:35 AM -- Kabul, Afghanistan<br />
 -- Afghan Army Air Corps Mentors in Afghanistan -- Mentors--<br />
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Photo by Jack Gruber, USA TODAY Staff
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  • 8/24/09 5:22:40 AM -- Kabul, Afghanistan<br />
 -- Afghan Army Air Corps Mentors in Afghanistan -- Mentors--<br />
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Photo by Jack Gruber, USA TODAY Staff
    gruber_standalones35820.JPG
  • 8/24/09 12:54:32 AM -- Kabul, Afghanistan<br />
 -- Afghan Army Air Corps Mentors in Afghanistan -- Mentors--<br />
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Photo by Jack Gruber, USA TODAY Staff
    gruber_standalones35818.JPG
  • 8/24/09 12:37:51 AM -- Kabul, Afghanistan<br />
 -- Afghan Army Air Corps Mentors in Afghanistan -- Mentors--<br />
<br />
Photo by Jack Gruber, USA TODAY Staff
    gruber_standalones35817.JPG
  • 2/21/04 -- SPECIAL FORCES A-TEAM -- ORUZGAN PROVINCE, AFGHANISTAN --  Capt. Paul Toolan, 36, of Bristol, RI, (center) commanding officer of an A-TEAM with the 3rd Special Forces Group and Sgt. First Class Larry Hawks, 33, of Wingfield, KY (right) meet and greet local villagers of Tarin Kowt, Afghanistan while an interpreter explains who the soldiers are to children as the team arrived and walked on patrol through the village with the Afghan National Army, 1ST Company of the First Battalion, Third  Brigade bringing the Afghan National Army into the vision of the local villagers for the first time in decades.    (Photo by Jack Gruber, USA TODAY)
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  • 2/21/04 -- SPECIAL FORCES A-TEAM -- ORUZGAN PROVINCE, AFGHANISTAN --  Capt. Paul Toolan, 36, of Bristol, RI, (left) commanding officer of an A-TEAM with the 3rd Special Forces Group meets and greets local villagers of Tarin Kowt, Afghanistan as the team arrived and walked on patrol through the village with the Afghan National Army, 1ST Company of the First Battalion, Third  Brigade bringing the Afghan National Army into the vision of the local villagers for the first time in decades.    (Photo by Jack Gruber, USA TODAY)
    gruber_standalones35769.JPG
  • 8/24/09 5:58:23 AM -- Kabul, Afghanistan<br />
 -- Afghan Army Air Corps Mentors in Afghanistan -- Mentors--<br />
<br />
Photo by Jack Gruber, USA TODAY Staff
    gruber_standalones35831.JPG
  • 8/24/09 5:57:50 AM -- Kabul, Afghanistan<br />
 -- Afghan Army Air Corps Mentors in Afghanistan -- Mentors--<br />
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Photo by Jack Gruber, USA TODAY Staff
    gruber_standalones35829.JPG
  • 8/24/09 5:57:29 AM -- Kabul, Afghanistan<br />
 -- Afghan Army Air Corps Mentors in Afghanistan -- Mentors--<br />
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Photo by Jack Gruber, USA TODAY Staff
    gruber_standalones35827.JPG
  • 8/24/09 5:57:18 AM -- Kabul, Afghanistan<br />
 -- Afghan Army Air Corps Mentors in Afghanistan -- Mentors--<br />
<br />
Photo by Jack Gruber, USA TODAY Staff
    gruber_standalones35825.JPG
  • 8/24/09 5:25:11 AM -- Kabul, Afghanistan<br />
 -- Afghan Army Air Corps Mentors in Afghanistan -- Mentors--<br />
<br />
Photo by Jack Gruber, USA TODAY Staff
    gruber_standalones35822.JPG
  • 2/21/04 -- SPECIAL FORCES A-TEAM -- ORUZGAN PROVINCE, AFGHANISTAN --  Sgt. First Class Larry Hawks, 33, of Wingfield, KY an A-TEAM with the 3rd Special Forces Group meets and greets local villagers of Tarin Kowt, Afghanistan while an interpreter explains who the soldiers are to children as the team arrived and walked on patrol through the village with the Afghan National Army, 1ST Company of the First Battalion, Third  Brigade bringing the Afghan National Army into the vision of the local villagers for the first time in decades.    (Photo by Jack Gruber, USA TODAY)
    gruber_standalones35771.JPG
  • 8/14/09 11:30:35 PM -- Kabul, Afghanistan  -- Presidential candidate and former Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah waves to supporters as he boards an Afghan National Army Air Corps Mi-17 helicopter following a campaign rally speech in Gardi Village in the Nangahar Province on his campaign tour through the province. Abdullah Abdullah is second in the polls and noted today as the main challenger to the incumbent, President Hamid Karzai, in the Aug. 20 election. Abdullah served in the Karzai administration from 2002-2006 as the Minister of Foreign Affairs.  Photo by Jack Gruber, USA TODAY Staff  ORG XMIT: JG 36854 Afghan_Elex 8/12/2009  (Via MerlinFTP Drop)
    gruber_standalones35765.JPG
  • 2/23/04 -- SPECIAL FORCES A-TEAM -- ORUZGAN PROVINCE, AFGHANISTAN --  Soldiers of the newly formed Afghan National Army, 1ST Company of the First Battalion, Third  Brigade led into the Oruzgan Province by an A-TEAM with the 3rd Special Forces Group wake up in the early morning hours while sitting on a found weapons cache disclosed to them by the Oruzgan District Tribal Chief.  The ANA and the Special Forces team were able to implement their form of "Afghan Diplomacy" and after two days the team was able to haul away nearly 10 tons of weapons and munitions from bunkers under the district chiefs compound. (Photo by Jack Gruber, USA TODAY)
    JG_FOLIO__43.JPG
  • 2/24/04 -- SPECIAL FORCES A-TEAM -- ORUZGAN PROVINCE, AFGHANISTAN --  Soldiers of the newly formed Afghan National Army, 1ST Company of the First Battalion, Third  Brigade led into the Oruzgan Province by an A-TEAM with the 3rd Special Forces Group toss an 82mm mortar while working hand in hand with Special Forces soldiers in a human chain moving nearly ten tons of munitions from a bunker complex under the Oruzgan district headquarters into rented "jingle" trucks. Special Forces A-Team and officers of the Afghan National Army, 1ST Company of the First Battalion, Third  Brigade spent an entire day and night applying  "Afghan Diplomacy" by drinking many glasses of tea and finally asking what is behind the locked doors in the bunkers below. Ubai Dullah's response was, "Nothing for soldiers.....just some bullets...."  After initial inspection of the bunkers, nearly ten tons of mortars, rockets, land mines and ammunition were found in the bunkers.  Negotiations between the district chief and the A-Team came to brief but tense “stand off” as soldiers began to remove the weapons when the district chief called in armed militia. Between talks and calling in an U.S. Air Force B-1 Bomber to make low passes over the valley, matters were resolved with some ammunition allowed to stay in the hands of the district chief but all mortars and rockets had to be surrendered. (Photo by Jack Gruber, USA TODAY)
    JG_FOLIO__39.JPG
  • 8/14/09 11:30:35 PM -- Kabul, Afghanistan  -- Presidential candidate and former Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah waves to supporters as he boards an Afghan National Army Air Corps Mi-17 helicopter following a campaign rally speech in Gardi Village in the Nangahar Province on his campaign tour through the province. Abdullah Abdullah is second in the polls and noted today as the main challenger to the incumbent, President Hamid Karzai, in the Aug. 20 election. Abdullah served in the Karzai administration from 2002-2006 as the Minister of Foreign Affairs.  Photo by Jack Gruber, USA TODAY Staff  ORG XMIT: JG 36854 Afghan_Elex 8/12/2009  (Via MerlinFTP Drop)
    JG_FOLIO__6.JPG
  • 2/24/04 -- SPECIAL FORCES A-TEAM -- ORUZGAN PROVINCE, AFGHANISTAN --  Soldiers of the newly formed Afghan National Army, 1ST Company of the First Battalion, Third  Brigade led into the Oruzgan Province by an A-TEAM with the 3rd Special Forces Group toss an 82mm mortar while working hand in hand with Special Forces soldiers in a human chain moving nearly ten tons of munitions from a bunker complex under the Oruzgan district headquarters into rented "jingle" trucks. Special Forces A-Team and officers of the Afghan National Army, 1ST Company of the First Battalion, Third  Brigade spent an entire day and night applying  "Afghan Diplomacy" by drinking many glasses of tea and finally asking what is behind the locked doors in the bunkers below. Ubai Dullah's response was, "Nothing for soldiers.....just some bullets...."  After initial inspection of the bunkers, nearly ten tons of mortars, rockets, land mines and ammunition were found in the bunkers.  Negotiations between the district chief and the A-Team came to brief but tense “stand off” as soldiers began to remove the weapons when the district chief called in armed militia. Between talks and calling in an U.S. Air Force B-1 Bomber to make low passes over the valley, matters were resolved with some ammunition allowed to stay in the hands of the district chief but all mortars and rockets had to be surrendered. (Photo by Jack Gruber, USA TODAY)
    gruber_standalones35782.JPG
  • 2/24/04 -- SPECIAL FORCES A-TEAM -- ORUZGAN PROVINCE, AFGHANISTAN --  A U.S. Air Force B-1 Bomber was called in to make several low altitude passes and provide CAS (Close Air Support) by the 3rd Special Forces Group A-Team as armed Oruzgan District militia member carrying RPGs and others with heavy weapons flooded into the bunker area near the Oruzgan District Chief compound called in by the District Chief when it became apparent the A-Team with the 3rd Special Forces Group and Afghan National Army were going to empty and remover the 10 tons of munitions stored in bunkers under the compound. Special Forces A-Team and officers of the Afghan National Army, 1ST Company of the First Battalion, Third  Brigade spent an entire day and night applying  "Afghan Diplomacy" by drinking many glasses of tea and finally asking what is behind the locked doors in the bunkers below. Ubai Dullah's response was, "Nothing for soldiers.....just some bullets...."  After initial inspection of the bunkers, nearly ten tons of mortars, rockets, land mines and ammunition were found in the bunkers.  Negotiations between the district chief and the A-Team came to brief but tense “stand off” as soldiers began to remove the weapons when the district chief called in armed militia. Between talks and calling in an U.S. Air Force B-1 Bomber to make low passes over the valley, matters were resolved with some ammunition allowed to stay in the hands of the district chief but all mortars and rockets had to be surrendered. (Photo by Jack Gruber, USA TODAY)
    gruber_standalones35785.JPG
  • 2/24/04 -- SPECIAL FORCES A-TEAM -- ORUZGAN PROVINCE, AFGHANISTAN --  An armed Oruzgan District militia member carrying a RPG and others with heavy weapons flood into the bunker area near the Oruzgan District Chief compound called in by the District Chief when it became apparent the A-Team with the 3rd Special Forces Group and Afghan National Army were going to empty and remover the 10 tons of munitions stored in bunkers under the compound. Special Forces A-Team and officers of the Afghan National Army, 1ST Company of the First Battalion, Third  Brigade spent an entire day and night applying  "Afghan Diplomacy" by drinking many glasses of tea and finally asking what is behind the locked doors in the bunkers below. Ubai Dullah's response was, "Nothing for soldiers.....just some bullets...."  After initial inspection of the bunkers, nearly ten tons of mortars, rockets, land mines and ammunition were found in the bunkers.  Negotiations between the district chief and the A-Team came to brief but tense “stand off” as soldiers began to remove the weapons when the district chief called in armed militia. Between talks and calling in an U.S. Air Force B-1 Bomber to make low passes over the valley, matters were resolved with some ammunition allowed to stay in the hands of the district chief but all mortars and rockets had to be surrendered. (Photo by Jack Gruber, USA TODAY)
    gruber_standalones35784.JPG
  • 2/24/04 -- SPECIAL FORCES A-TEAM -- ORUZGAN PROVINCE, AFGHANISTAN --  Oruzgan District Chief Ubai Dullah's  (white head dress) leads a group of armed Oruzgan District militia members carrying RPGs and others with heavy weapons flood into the bunker area near the Oruzgan District Chief compound trying to talk with an Afghan National Army officer when it became apparent the A-Team with the 3rd Special Forces Group and Afghan National Army were going to empty and remover the 10 tons of munitions stored in bunkers under the compound. Special Forces A-Team and officers of the Afghan National Army, 1ST Company of the First Battalion, Third  Brigade spent an entire day and night applying  "Afghan Diplomacy" by drinking many glasses of tea and finally asking what is behind the locked doors in the bunkers below. Ubai Dullah's response was, "Nothing for soldiers.....just some bullets...."  After initial inspection of the bunkers, nearly ten tons of mortars, rockets, land mines and ammunition were found in the bunkers.  Negotiations between the district chief and the A-Team came to brief but tense “stand off” as soldiers began to remove the weapons when the district chief called in armed militia. Between talks and calling in an U.S. Air Force B-1 Bomber to make low passes over the valley, matters were resolved with some ammunition allowed to stay in the hands of the district chief but all mortars and rockets had to be surrendered. (Photo by Jack Gruber, USA TODAY)
    gruber_standalones35783.JPG
  • 2/23/04 -- SPECIAL FORCES A-TEAM -- ORUZGAN PROVINCE, AFGHANISTAN --  A district tribal official with keys to a locked bunker watches passively as ANA soldiers discover what was described as "Just some bullets" by the Oruzgan district tribal chief in locked bunkers below the compound are actually  bunkers containing nearly ten tons of weapons and munitions. 3rd Group Special Forces A-Team and officers of the Afghan National Army, 1ST Company of the First Battalion, Third  Brigade spent an entire day and night applying  "Afghan Diplomacy" by drinking many glasses of tea and finally asking what is behind the locked doors in the bunkers below. Oruzgan District Chief Ubai Dullah's response was, "Nothing for soldiers.....just some bullets...."  After initial inspection of the bunkers, nearly ten tons of mortars, rockets, land mines and ammunition was trucked away for disposal.  Negotiations between the district chief and the A-Team came to brief but tense “stand off” as soldiers began to remove the weapons when the district chief called in armed militia. Between talks and calling in an U.S. Air Force B-1 Bomber to make low passes over the valley, matters were resolved with some ammunition allowed to stay in the hands of the district chief but all mortars and rockets had to be surrendered. (Photo by Jack Gruber, USA TODAY)
    gruber_standalones35779.JPG
  • SPECIAL NOTE: DO NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES MAKE THE FACES MORE VISIBLE OR BRIGHTEN THE IMAGE TO SHOW DETAIL IN THE SOLDIERS FACE!<br />
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2/24/04 -- SPECIAL FORCES A-TEAM -- ORUZGAN PROVINCE, AFGHANISTAN --  Staff Sgt. Don Grambusch, 27, of Bailey, Colorado wakes sleeping Staff Sgt. Shawn Womack, 26, of Little Rock, Arkansas, by tossing a Gatorade bottle on the slumbering soldier as they and other members of the A-TEAM with the 3rd Special Forces Group wake up in the early morning hours on the second day in Oruzgan while sitting on a weapons cache site disclosed to them by the Oruzgan District Tribal Chief.  The team camped for two nights in front of the district tribal chief headquarters before finally being allowed to remove the 10 tons of weapons and munitions to be destroyed. The ANA and the Special Forces team were able to implement their form of "Afghan Diplomacy" and after two days the team was able to haul away nearly 10 tons of weapons and munitions from bunkers under the district chiefs compound. (Photo by Jack Gruber, USA TODAY)
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  • 2/23/04 -- SPECIAL FORCES A-TEAM -- ORUZGAN PROVINCE, AFGHANISTAN --  Staff Sgt. Shawn Womack, 26, of Little Rock, Arkansas, left, watches as local Afghan men butcher a sheep offered by Oruzgan District Chief Ubai Dullah for a traditional Afghan lunch for the Special Forces soldiers. The Captain and officers of the Afghan National Army, 1ST Company of the First Battalion, Third  Brigade spent an entire day and night applying  "Afghan Diplomacy" by drinking many glasses of tea and finally asking what is behind the locked doors in the bunkers below. Ubai Dullah's response was, "Nothing for soldiers.....just some bullets...."  After initial inspection of the bunkers, nearly ten tons of mortars, rockets, land mines and ammunition was trucked away for disposal.  Negotiations between the district chief and the A-Team came to brief but tense “stand off” as soldiers began to remove the weapons when the district chief called in armed militia. Between talks and calling in an U.S. Air Force B-1 Bomber to make low passes over the valley, matters were resolved with some ammunition allowed to stay in the hands of the district chief but all mortars and rockets had to be surrendered. (Photo by Jack Gruber, USA TODAY)
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  • 2/20/04 -- SPECIAL FORCES A-TEAM -- ORUZGAN PROVINCE, AFGHANISTAN --  A United States Special Forces soldier walks on patrol with Afghan National Army, 1ST Company of the First Battalion, Third  Brigade  soldiers on patrol in the town of Deh Rawood.  (Photo by Jack Gruber, USA TODAY)
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  • 2/24/04 -- SPECIAL FORCES A-TEAM -- ORUZGAN PROVINCE, AFGHANISTAN --  With hundreds of 82mm mortars already removed and stacked outside bunkers, soldiers of the newly formed Afghan National Army, 1ST Company of the First Battalion, Third  Brigade led into the Oruzgan Province by an A-TEAM with the 3rd Special Forces Group toss an 82mm mortar to each other while removing nearly ten tons of munitions from a bunker complex under the Oruzgan district. Special Forces A-Team and officers of the Afghan National Army, 1ST Company of the First Battalion, Third  Brigade spent an entire day and night applying  "Afghan Diplomacy" by drinking many glasses of tea and finally asking what is behind the locked doors in the bunkers below. Ubai Dullah's response was, "Nothing for soldiers.....just some bullets...."  After initial inspection of the bunkers, nearly ten tons of mortars, rockets, land mines and ammunition were found in the bunkers.  Negotiations between the district chief and the A-Team came to brief but tense “stand off” as soldiers began to remove the weapons when the district chief called in armed militia. Between talks and calling in an U.S. Air Force B-1 Bomber to make low passes over the valley, matters were resolved with some ammunition allowed to stay in the hands of the district chief but all mortars and rockets had to be surrendered. (Photo by Jack Gruber, USA TODAY)
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  • 2/23/04 -- SPECIAL FORCES A-TEAM -- ORUZGAN PROVINCE, AFGHANISTAN --  The contents of one of the Oruzgan District headquarters bunkers after Capt. Paul Toolan, 36, of Bristol, RI, (left) commanding officer of an A-TEAM with the 3rd Special Forces Group walks arm in arm with a "worried" Oruzgan District Chief Ubai Dullah towards the district chief's compound after the district chief disclosed and showed the contents of locked bunkers below the compound. The Captain and officers of the Afghan National Army, 1ST Company of the First Battalion, Third  Brigade spent an entire day and night applying  "Afghan Diplomacy" by drinking many glasses of tea and finally asking what is behind the locked doors in the bunkers below. Ubai Dullah's response was, "Nothing for soldiers.....just some bullets...."  After initial inspection of the bunkers, nearly ten tons of mortars, rockets, land mines and ammunition was trucked away for disposal.  Negotiations between the district chief and the A-Team came to brief but tense “stand off” as soldiers began to remove the weapons when the district chief called in armed militia. Between talks and calling in an U.S. Air Force B-1 Bomber to make low passes over the valley, matters were resolved with some ammunition allowed to stay in the hands of the district chief but all mortars and rockets had to be surrendered. (Photo by Jack Gruber, USA TODAY)
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  • 2/23/04 -- SPECIAL FORCES A-TEAM -- ORUZGAN PROVINCE, AFGHANISTAN --  Sgt. First Class Jay Pope, 32, of Chesterton, IN, (right) brushes his teeth and Staff Sgt. Don Grambusch, 27, of Bailey, CO, left, and other members of the A-TEAM with the 3rd Special Forces Group wake up in the early morning hours while sitting on a weapons cache site disclosed to them by the Oruzgan District Tribal Chief.  The team camped for two nights in front of the district tribal chief headquarters before finally being allowed to remove the 10 tons of weapons and munitions to be destroyed. A local Afghan moves about there position in front of the district tribal chief headquarters. The ANA and the Special Forces team were able to implement their form of "Afghan Diplomacy" and after two days the team was able to haul away nearly 10 tons of weapons and munitions from bunkers under the district chiefs compound. (Photo by Jack Gruber, USA TODAY)  ORG XMIT: Special Forces_jg2178
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  • 2/23/04 -- SPECIAL FORCES A-TEAM -- ORUZGAN PROVINCE, AFGHANISTAN --  Soldiers of the newly formed Afghan National Army, 1ST Company of the First Battalion, Third  Brigade led into the Oruzgan Province by an A-TEAM with the 3rd Special Forces Group wake up in the early morning hours while sitting on a found weapons cache disclosed to them by the Oruzgan District Tribal Chief.  The ANA and the Special Forces team were able to implement their form of "Afghan Diplomacy" and after two days the team was able to haul away nearly 10 tons of weapons and munitions from bunkers under the district chiefs compound. (Photo by Jack Gruber, USA TODAY)
    gruber_standalones35770.JPG
  • 2/24/04 -- SPECIAL FORCES A-TEAM -- ORUZGAN PROVINCE, AFGHANISTAN -- A local Oruzgan youngster abandons his bicycle and flees as A-Team 3rd Special Forces group soldiers detonate off in the distance landmines and other munitions which were a small fraction of the nearly ten tons of munitions discovered under the compound of the Oruzgan District Chief's compand. Soldiers with the Afghan National Army, 1ST Company of the First Battalion, Third  Brigade worked in a human chain along with members of an A-Team with the 3rd Special Forces Group as they removed by hand nearly ten tons of mortars, rockets, ammunition and other various munitions from the underground bunkers of the Oruzgan District Chief’s compound.. Special Forces A-Team and officers of the Afghan National Army, 1ST Company of the First Battalion, Third  Brigade spent an entire day and night applying  "Afghan Diplomacy" by drinking many glasses of tea and finally asking what is behind the locked doors in the bunkers below. Ubai Dullah's response was, "Nothing for soldiers.....just some bullets...."  After initial inspection of the bunkers, nearly ten tons of mortars, rockets, land mines and ammunition were found in the bunkers.  Negotiations between the district chief and the A-Team came to brief but tense “stand off” as soldiers began to remove the weapons when the district chief called in armed militia. Between talks and calling in an U.S. Air Force B-1 Bomber to make low passes over the valley, matters were resolved with some ammunition allowed to stay in the hands of the district chief but all mortars and rockets had to be surrendered. (Photo by Jack Gruber, USA TODAY)
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  • 9/7/10 3:47:03 AM -- -- <br />
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Photo by Jack Gruber, USA TODAY Staff
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  • 9/8/10 1:47:11 AM -- -- <br />
1st Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, Weapons Company marines sleep at the platoons remote outpost Kunjak following a night mission in the Musa Qala area.  <br />
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Photo by Jack Gruber, USA TODAY Staff
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  • 9/8/10 1:47:11 AM -- -- <br />
1st Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, Charlie Company, 1st Platoon Sgt. John Ellis, conducting searches in towns near the platoons remote outpost Kunjak. Ellis says has found children selling heroin dosages wrapped in torn pages of the Koran in the village streets. <br />
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Photo by Jack Gruber, USA TODAY Staff
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  • 8/14/09 -- Kabul, Afghanistan<br />
 -- Elections in Afghanistan --  Elections in Afghanistan -- Presidential candidate and former Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah is welcomed by locals from the Hesarak District, in the Nangahar Province after arriving there by helicopter on a campaign stop to meet with the elders who have pledged their support and votes in the upcoming presidential elections. Abdullah Abdullah is second in the polls and noted today as the main challenger to the incumbent, President Hamid Karzai, in the Aug. 20 election. Abdullah served in the Karzai administration from 2002-2006 as the Minister of Foreign Affairs.
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  • 8/14/09 -- Kabul, Afghanistan<br />
 -- Elections in Afghanistan --  Elections in Afghanistan --Presidential candidate and former Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah after landing in an Afghan National Army Air Corps Mi-17 helicopter in theGardi Village in the Nangahar Province turns back after he had to cover himself from the sand, dirt and debris kicked up as another helicopter lands before his next stop on a campaign tour to through the province. Abdullah Abdullah is second in the polls and noted today as the main challenger to the incumbent, President Hamid Karzai, in the Aug. 20 election. Abdullah served in the Karzai administration from 2002-2006 as the Minister of Foreign Affairs.
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  • ORG XMIT: JG 41090 VETSMENTALHEALTH 11/9/2 11/11/11 8:02:04 PM -- Tulsa, OK, U.S.A  -- WARWIDOW -- Jane Horton, 26, standing with the American flag which draped the coffin of her husband Army Specialist Christopher Horton, 26, who was killed in Afghanistan in September 2011, outside of her home near Tulsa, OK .   Military leaders worry that after 10 years of war, there is a growing disconnect between the tiny minority of Americans on the battle lines and the vast majority who lives their lives in peace. Surveys have confirmed this disconnect. And Jane Horton is living right in the middle of it. The young war widow is a member of a venerable group that no one recognizes any more -- Gold Star war widows. In previous wars, they were known, appreciated and venerated for their sacrifices. Today, when Jane walks through events with her Gold Star pin on her blouse, no one recognizes it. No one asks her about it. No one can see that she gave up her husband several weeks before to a war winding down in Afghanistan.    --    Photo by Jack Gruber, USA TODAY staff  [Via MerlinFTP Drop]
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  • 8/14/09 -- Kabul, Afghanistan<br />
 -- Elections in Afghanistan --  A crowd cheers and follows Presidential candidate and former Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah to a rally speech he is to give in the Gardi Village in the Nangahar Province on his campaign tour through the province. Abdullah Abdullah is second in the polls and noted today as the main challenger to the incumbent, President Hamid Karzai, in the Aug. 20 election. Abdullah served in the Karzai administration from 2002-2006 as the Minister of Foreign Affairs.
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  • 8/14/09 -- Kabul, Afghanistan<br />
 -- Elections in Afghanistan --  Presidential candidate and former Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah gives a speech under a red filtering light tent in the Gardi Village in the Nangahar Province on his campaign tour through the province. Abdullah Abdullah is second in the polls and noted today as the main challenger to the incumbent, President Hamid Karzai, in the Aug. 20 election. Abdullah served in the Karzai administration from 2002-2006 as the Minister of Foreign Affairs.
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  • 8/14/09 -- Kabul, Afghanistan<br />
 -- Elections in Afghanistan --  Presidential candidate and former Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah after landing an Afghan National Army Air Corps Mi-17 helicopter in the town of Kotikhil in the Nangahar Province is greeted by local officials on his arrival before heading to his next stop on a campaign tour to through the province. Abdullah Abdullah is second in the polls and noted today as the main challenger to the incumbent, President Hamid Karzai, in the Aug. 20 election. Abdullah served in the Karzai administration from 2002-2006 as the Minister of Foreign Affairs.
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  • 10/12/11 8:53:50 AM -- Washington, DC, DC<br />
 -- The 3d U.S. Infantry Regiment (The Old Guard) Caisson platoon carry to his final resting place in Arlington National Cemetery Section 60 fallen soldier Army Spc. Christopher D. Horton, 26, of Collinsville, Oklahoma, assigned to 1st Battalion, 279 Infantry Regiment, 45th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, Oklahoma National Guard, Tulsa, Okla, who was killed in action on Sept. 9, 2011 in Paktya, Afghanistan of wounds suffered when enemy forces attacked his unit with small-arms fire. Also killed were Sgt. Bret D. Isenhower and Pfc. Tony J. Potter Jr.  -- <br />
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Photo by Jack Gruber, USA TODAY Staff
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  • 8/14/09 -- Kabul, Afghanistan<br />
 -- Elections in Afghanistan --  Presidential candidate and former Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah after landing in an Afghan National Army Air Corps Mi-17 helicopter in the Gardi Village in the Nangahar Province has to cover themselves from the sand, dirt and debris kicked up as another helicopter lands before his next stop on a campaign tour to through the province. Abdullah Abdullah is second in the polls and noted today as the main challenger to the incumbent, President Hamid Karzai, in the Aug. 20 election. Abdullah served in the Karzai administration from 2002-2006 as the Minister of Foreign Affairs.
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  • 8/14/09 -- Kabul, Afghanistan<br />
 -- Elections in Afghanistan --Presidential candidate and former Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah laughing in an Afghan National Army Air Corps Mi-17 helicopter waiting to take off following a large campaign rally in the district of Hesarak in the Nangahar Province heading to his next stop on a campaign tour to through the province. Abdullah Abdullah is second in the polls and noted today as the main challenger to the incumbent, President Hamid Karzai, in the Aug. 20 election. Abdullah served in the Karzai administration from 2002-2006 as the Minister of Foreign Affairs.
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  • 8/14/09 -- Kabul, Afghanistan<br />
 -- Elections in Afghanistan --  Village elders from the district of Hisarak sit and listen to Presidential candidate and former Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah on rugs under the canopy of trees in the district of Hsarak, in the Nangahar Province. Abdullah arrived there by helicopter on a campaign stop to meet with the elders who have pledged their support and votes in the upcoming presidential elections. Abdullah Abdullah is second in the polls and noted today as the main challenger to the incumbent, President Hamid Karzai, in the Aug. 20 election. Abdullah served in the Karzai administration from 2002-2006 as the Minister of Foreign Affairs.
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  • 8/14/09 -- Kabul, Afghanistan<br />
 -- Elections in Afghanistan --  Presidential candidate and former Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah after landing in an Afghan National Army Air Corps Mi-17 helicopter in the town of Gardi Village in the Nangahar Province watches as another helicopter lands before his next stop on a campaign tour to through the province. Abdullah Abdullah is second in the polls and noted today as the main challenger to the incumbent, President Hamid Karzai, in the Aug. 20 election. Abdullah served in the Karzai administration from 2002-2006 as the Minister of Foreign Affairs.
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  • Trying to Get By:<br />
Summary: Following the loss of a landscaping job, Nick Sweeney, 26, his wife Ginger, 33, and their three children Rusty, 13, Larry, 11, and Lisa, 10, lost their home. For two months, while Sweeney searched for work, the family lived in tents throughout Missouri. The Sweeney’s, like many American families, found themselves living paycheck-to-paycheck before Nick was let go without any warning in August 2005. The family had moved to Cameron, Missouri after Nick, a former paratrooper with the 82nd Airborne and veteran of combat tours in Afghanistan and Iraq, was discharged from the Army early this year.  The family hoped to finally begin to build a nest egg for their family from his $30,000 per year landscaping salary. <br />
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Photo Caption: <br />
Out of money and time at the Van Meter State Park camp grounds, Ginger Sweeney kisses the forehead of her oldest son Rusty, 13, riding with her other son Larry, 11, and daughter Lisa, 10, as the family departed their camp site for the warmth of Gene's Motel in Marshall as temperatures dropped into the 40 degree range. A member organization of the Saline County Interagency Council informed the family that funds had been obtained to house them in the hotel for one week. The family immediately left before dark for the warmth of the hotel in Marshall but would return three times that night to pack up belongings after the children were tucked away.
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  • 8/14/14 4:30:28 PM -- Arlington, VA, U.S.A  -- Army Lt. Matthew Greene says goodbye at the casket of his father U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Harold J. Greene who was killed supporting Operation Enduring Freedom at the time of his death in Afghanistan, during funeral at Arlington Cemetery.   --    Photo by Jack Gruber, USA TODAY Staff ORG XMIT:  JG 131546 Gen. Greene 8/14/2014 [Via MerlinFTP Drop]
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  • Trying to Get By:<br />
Summary: Following the loss of a landscaping job, Nick Sweeney, 26, his wife Ginger, 33, and their three children Rusty, 13, Larry, 11, and Lisa, 10, lost their home. For two months, while Sweeney searched for work, the family lived in tents throughout Missouri. The Sweeney’s, like many American families, found themselves living paycheck-to-paycheck before Nick was let go without any warning in August 2005. The family had moved to Cameron, Missouri after Nick, a former paratrooper with the 82nd Airborne and veteran of combat tours in Afghanistan and Iraq, was discharged from the Army early this year.  The family hoped to finally begin to build a nest egg for their family from his $30,000 per year landscaping salary. <br />
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Photo Caption: <br />
Out of money and time at the Van Meter State Park camp grounds, Ginger Sweeney kisses the forehead of her oldest son Rusty, 13, riding with her other son Larry, 11, and daughter Lisa, 10, as the family departed their camp site for the warmth of Gene's Motel in Marshall as temperatures dropped into the 40 degree range. A member organization of the Saline County Interagency Council informed the family that funds had been obtained to house them in the hotel for one week. The family immediately left before dark for the warmth of the hotel in Marshall but would return three times that night to pack up belongings after the children were tucked away.
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