At War

An odd sense of order took over as pandemonium erupted during an ambush by the Taliban. It felt like I was watching a choreographed dance. Two soldiers aimed their rocket propelled grenades at the enemy, the first one firing, with total disregard for those around them. In the back ground two Afghan soldiers crouched low to keep out of the way of the back blast from the rocket. Every soldier becomes connected in moments like this. An Afghan Army soldier fires a rocket propelled grenade at a Taliban position during fighting in Panjawi, Kandahar Provence, Afghanistan. The Canadian, American and Afghan Armies fought together for over three weeks to drive out Taliban forces as part of Operation Mountain Thrust.

At War

As I followed the Afghan soldiers into this mud hut in search of weapons, I could taste the dust and mustiness that is part of their daily life. As I shot this image, it seemed to speak to the daily life and conditions, as well as the lack of privacy as the soldier opened the window and climbed through to the courtyard on the other side.

At War

When I think of images of parachutes and air drops, I always think of WWII. As I watched the fabric from the shoots open, there was a very majestic quality to the experience. I found myself thinking that after 60 years following WWII how this moment was timeless, yet part of the modern collage we think of with war itself.

At War

As I shot this moment of the destruction of an IED that the US and Afghan soldiers had discovered only moments before, there was powerful realization of the hand of fate, and how close we had come to being part of that blast. IEDs are the demons of this day of warfare, hidden and in waiting like a spider sitting in its web.

At War

I saw this as a moment that seemed to capture the rugged yet optimistic spirit of the Afghans. These soldiers had just completed a funeral ceremony for the family. As they finished, one of the Afghan soldier stood on the running board of his truck to set the Afghan national flag in its mount as if to remind them all of the greater dream of a unified country.

I found that it was common to be in the remote areas of Afghanistan and witness the night in it's purity, without the visual disruption of electric lights. In these moments there is very ancient sense to the country that seems to awaken. Watching these soldiers fire the Howitzer seemed like a modern juxtaposition of the new and the old, reminding me of the stories of ritual bonfires that were once burnt to ward off evil spirits.

This was such an oddly disturbing moment. As I watched US Army Staff Sgt. Dustin Gladwell scan the horizon through his rifle sights, I was taken by the almost curious expressions of the Afghans standing in front of him. I remember thinking how in a country ravaged by decades of war, chaos has become part of daily existence.

As I followed the soldiers on their patrol in the Panjawi Valley following a heavy rain, I was taken by how this image could just as well been Vietnam. Here again, searching and fighting an elusive enemy.

The fact Afghanistan is a country living within the grip a perpetual war was a daily backdrop to my work. There was no place that was so sacred or out of reach of a conflict rooted in the clash of beliefs. As I watched the young girl being pulled from the room prior to the soldiers conducting a search, I felt a deep sorry for the loss of innocence as even the room of this young Afghan girl could not escape the wars reach.

Twelve months of a deployment was finally at an end. As I looked towards the back of the vehicle, the faces told the story. The smile in that moment spoke to the realization that they were going home, alive and without injury. *Scott is emailing me the ID's of these two men. The man on the right is Staff Sargeant Fish.

As I walked up the mountain through the yellow haze following the Afghan soldiers in their hunt for two Taliban fighters that were hiding in the rocks above, I looked back to see and capture this moment. The image seemed to capture the foreboding sense of what was lieing ahead, unknown yet haunting. I saw this as a look deep into the emotional state of war.

As deployments are extended without warning, compounded by the uncertainties that war holds, the idea of going home, as was the case for these 10th Mtn Division soldiers is an emotionally complex moment. There is a duality within this image of the patience and duty bound part of the solider shown by those in the foreground, contrasted with excitement and anticipation from the movement of the soldier on the right of the frame as well as those standing. I could feel all of this, their eagerness, their caution, even the apprehension from these soldiers as the Chinook landed to take them back to Kanadahar and then home and all of the uncertainties that awaited them.

Shooting war is far more than conflict. There is the human side that is universal. I found this moment to be such a statement to that. Soldiers, dressed in their uniforms, sharing a moment of tea, and laughter, while another soldier tries to read English grade school level picture book.

I was filming close shots of Afghan soldiers being trained by US Army advisors on the proper technics of the RPG (Rocket Propelled Grenade). As I was focused on the shot, I suddenly became aware that a misfire had occurred. The US advisor grabbed the Afghan soldier and had him on the ground and out of the way of the RPG round that had fallen just feet in front of us, before I realized what had happened.

I literally walked hundreds of miles during my stay in Afghanistan. There was an unspoken intensity that was always in the back of my daily thoughts. I shot this image while on a patrol in the Oruzgan Province. It captured the mood, the harshness and the extremes of the experience. I wore that cap every day while in Afghanistan, only retiring it when I packed my bags to go home.