Battlefield Tourist

As the Marines spread through the village, they gathered everyone out of their homes, separating the women and children from the men and teenaged boys. For the most part the women and children were scared. Some crying, some trembling, but in general, everyone cooperated and the Marines were not overbearing.
In all, dozens of houses were cleared in this manner. No doubt an interruption
to daily life, but one that was meant to send a message.
The search took hours, so when we got to the end of the village, my PAO liason, Cpl. Jempsey Alvarez, `and I went with a group of soldiers escorting the detained men to the rear where they were being questioned.
It took about 20 minutes to cover the 2 km walk and i was glad when we got there. As always, I headed straight for an MRE to get some chow before I started a new leg of work. I try to stay well feed and mucho fluids flowing. The environment is harsh and conditions demanding, so it's the least I can do.
In the rear are several separated group of men and boys. All of them are sitting. Some are bound, a fewer number are blindfolded. More than 250 in all. The Special Forces and other trained military types are working through "terps" (interpreter) deciding who is not a threat, who may pose a threat and who is a threat. Up a hill is where the "PUCs" go. PUC mean "Person under Control". These are the guys that the military deems as "suspect" and are detained for further questioning. Two days after this, they were flown out of the area to places unknown.
There's other groups of men as well. Even though not all are found suspect, all get to spend the day in the sun enjoying bottled water and military MRE's whether they wanted to or not.
Lt. Col. Khan wrapped up the afternoon with a long talk to the village elders. He sat in a fold up chair with a terp standing next to him. He'd say a sentence in a very nonchalant way, and the terp would forcefully pass it along. I'm not sure why the colonel uses a terp when he speaks Pashtun as well.
Regardless, he reminded the elders that he holds them responsible for helping with the security of their village. He told them that a Marine can be his best friend of worst enemy. That schools and wells are the end result of cooperation.
The talk lasted a good hour in which everyone got up and shook hands with Colonel Kahn. It was at this time that he began to speak Pashtun to the elders, as if he was letting them know there's a new sheriff in town.
The colonel also told me to go take a look at the body around the corner. So I went down the hill and around a mud hut and there was a dead Taliban. He was one of those killed in the fight just hours before. He had been shot a number of times, including through the neck. He was also missing the back of his head.
Notably, the guy had plastic cuffs on his wrists and feet. I've seen it in the states where they cuff suspects who had been shot, but a picture like this is sure to be used as propaganda. Unfortunately, I have to take it.
After this I decide to follow the engineers down the hill where they're going to explode the munitions they found. As I'm walking up the road, I lose track of the Marines, but soon see a couple up on the hill to my right. "Hey... we're gonna blow some shit up!", he says. I knew I'd found them again. So I climb the hill and watch the set the charge. I set up my camera about 300 meters away and retreat back another 50 meters to cover behind a large boulder.
When the blast goes, I feel the concussion on my face, which makes me sure that my camera probably isn't standing. As I make my way toward it, I'm very relieved to see I was wrong. This picture adds the icing to a great day of shooting. Having the first action video of the Marines is a big deal and I have to get out of here. I tell that to Alvarez and we catch a ride on an outgoing 7-ton truck and head back to Indianhead for another night under the stars.