President Obama recently spoke about the War in Afghanistan in his State of the Union address: “Thanks to our heroic troops and civilians, fewer Afghans are under the control of the insurgency. There will be tough fighting ahead, and the Afghan government will need to deliver better governance. But we are strengthening the capacity of the Afghan people and building an enduring partnership with them. This year, we will work with nearly 50 countries to begin a transition to an Afghan lead. And this July, we will begin to bring our troops home.” With this post, we continue the monthly look at the men and women who live and fight in the country and at the Afghan people themselves as they struggle for peace in their land. At the end of the regular post I've included 14 additional images by Associated Press photographer Kevin Frayer. The images are black and white aerials - a unique view - of Helmand Province, southern Afghanistan. -- Paula Nelson (48 photos total)
Sergeant Quincey Northern, a medic with the US Army's Task Force Shadow "Dust Off,’’
Charlie Company 1-214 Aviation Regiment, gathers his equipment after finishing a medevac mission and arriving back at Camp Dwyer, in southern Helmand Province, Afghanistan, on Thursday, Jan. 27. Medevac units may make several runs a day - at times under fire - to evacuate both injured troops and Afghan civilians. (Kevin Frayer/Associated Press)
Charlie Company 1-214 Aviation Regiment, gathers his equipment after finishing a medevac mission and arriving back at Camp Dwyer, in southern Helmand Province, Afghanistan, on Thursday, Jan. 27. Medevac units may make several runs a day - at times under fire - to evacuate both injured troops and Afghan civilians. (Kevin Frayer/Associated Press)
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Sergeant Darryl McKinstry, a medic, runs toward a Marine wounded by an improvised explosive device before moving him to a medevac helicopter in southern Helmand Province, Afghanistan, Wednesday, Jan. 26. Such devices, essentially homemade bombs, are the biggest killer of US soldiers in Afghanistan. (Kevin Frayer/Associated Press) 8
Marines from First Battalion Eighth Bravo, during an operation in Zalmabad village in Musa Qala district of Helmand province on Jan. 23. A 140,000-strong force of NATO-led international troops is fighting a Taliban-led insurgency, a war that is now in its 10th year. (Dmitry Kostyukov/AFP/Getty Images) 9
A Marine greets children during a patrol outside Musa Qala District Center base on Jan. 28. Musa Qala is the Marines’ newest base in southern Afghanistan. The troops recently replaced British forces in the area, considered an essential junction that had been held by the Taliban. (Dmitry Kostyukov/AFP/Getty Images) 14
Marines from First Battalion Eighth Bravo patrol near Zalmabad village in Musa Qala district of Helmand province on Jan. 23. “We've definitely had a lot of progress because we do so many patrols, we get out, we put our faces out there," Lieutenant Pete Carrothers told AFP. (Dmitry Kostyukov/AFP/Getty Images) 22
Their meal comes late for Marines after they patrolled during an operation in Zalmabad village in Musa Qala district on Jan. 22. “This is amazing (but) it's slow in the grand scheme of things,’’ Major Justin Ansel told AFP, discussing the Marines’ progress in the district. (Dmitry Kostyukov/AFP/Getty Images) 23
A mine clearing specialist from the French Foreign Legion searches for improvised explosive devices on a road near Tagab in Kapisa Province on Jan. 25. The French Foreign Legion, a military unit established in 1831, was created for foreign nationals of any nationality wishing to serve in the French armed forces. (Joel Saget/AFP/Getty Images) 28
A man runs through a burning supermarket on Jan. 28 in central Kabul after an explosion rocked the store frequented by foreigners. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack, which killed nine people, and said it was aimed at an executive of the Blackwater private security firm. Workers of the firm were nearby but uninjured. The company was singled out because “they are invaders, and secondly, they are protecting the invaders,” said a Taliban spokesman. (Ahmad Massoud/Associated Press)
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