Battle in the Snow and Ice
A war photo a day #38
Uncategorized October 18, 2013 .wombatman1
Battle in the Snow and Ice
A war photo a day #38
Eight years. Eight wars. More death and destruction than I care to recount. I’ve been covering armed conflict since 2005. Every battlefield has its stories … and its unforgettable images. Follow me through my career at war, one jarring, haunting or sublime photo a day until I run out.
In early 2012 I was back in Afghanistan, aiming to cover an aspect of the war rarely covered by most media. More than most wars, the Afghan conflict is seasonal. When the temperature drops and snow and ice blanket the eastern mountains, the Taliban hunkers down, resupplies, trains, plans.
And so do the Americans. In the winter of 2012, U.S. Army troops from the 172nd Infantry Brigade took advantage of the seasonal lull to build a new base astride a Taliban supply route in Marzak, in the mountains of Paktika province. With the roads cut off by snow and ice, helicopters and low-level airdrops—depicted below—were the soldiers’ only lifeline.
They built their base, trained up local cops and waited for the thaw … and the coming of the Taliban.