War Is Boring

KUNAR PROVINCE, Afghanistan — Gunfire and rockets erupted on both sides of the American patrol the night of March 28 in Kunar province, along the Pakistani border in eastern Afghanistan. The ambush was one of at least two apparently coordinated attacks that struck U.S. Army forces operating from two small bases in the province’s main river valley.

U.S. Army medevac crews from Task Force Knighthawk, at Bagram Air Field, transfer a patient in eastern Afghanistan on April 2, 2010.

There’s a new Afghanistan war plan. Last fall, NATO commander General Stanley McChrystal rolled out more restrictive rules of engagement, heralding a “population-centric” approach to the war. U.S. President Barack Obama announced more U.S. troops. While U.S.-led forces in eastern Afghanistan doubled their efforts to prop up faltering local governance, troops in the south identified [...]

There’s a new Afghanistan war plan. Last fall, NATO commander General Stanley McChrystal rolled out more restrictive rules of engagement, heralding a “population-centric” approach to the war. U.S. President Barack Obama announced more U.S. troops. While U.S.-led forces in eastern Afghanistan doubled their efforts to prop up faltering local governance, troops in the south identified [...]

There’s a new Afghanistan war plan. Last fall, NATO commander General Stanley McChrystal rolled out more restrictive rules of engagement, heralding a “population-centric” approach to the war. U.S. President Barack Obama announced more U.S. troops. While U.S.-led forces in eastern Afghanistan doubled their efforts to prop up faltering local governance, troops in the south identified [...]

2nd Platoon, Battle Company, 2-503 Infantry got ambushed from both sides in Kunar on March 28. Three rockets slammed into the side of an M-ATV. Another exploded in front of an up-armored Humvee. Bullets struck the windshields of the vehicles, as though someone were aiming for the drivers.

There’s a new Afghanistan war plan. Last fall, NATO commander General Stanley McChrystal rolled out more restrictive rules of engagement, heralding a “population-centric” approach to the war. U.S. President Barack Obama announced more U.S. troops. While U.S.-led forces in eastern Afghanistan doubled their efforts to prop up faltering local governance, troops in the south identified [...]

The governor of Kunar Province had promised 50 new schools to his constituents. A year later there’s just one, a boy’s school, but it’s a doozy. Room for 300 students. Solar panels for power. It’s own water tank for plumbing. “It’s a dummy project,” says Sergeant Josh Miller, a Civil Affairs specialist assigned to 2nd Platoon, Battle Company, 2-503 Infantry. If the school works out, Kunar might get more just like it.

There’s a new Afghanistan war plan. Last fall, NATO commander General Stanley McChrystal rolled out more restrictive rules of engagement, heralding a “population-centric” approach to the war. U.S. President Barack Obama announced more U.S. troops. While U.S.-led forces in eastern Afghanistan doubled their efforts to prop up faltering local governance, troops in the south identified [...]

Afghan cops take a physical fitness test and conduct weapons training with the U.S. Army in Kunar province.

It was a confrontation a long time in the making. On March 18 at Bagram, Afghanistan, the U.S. Army’s Task Force Gladius linked up with elements of the Army’s 3rd Combat Aviation Brigade and the Afghan army and air corps for a complex air-assault exercise. Two Afghan and two American helicopters would swoop into nearby fields to disgorge Afghan commandos. There would be two iterations: one in the morning and another after lunch.

FORWARD OPERATING BASE JOYCE, Afghanistan — The U.S. Army’s maps of Kunar province are marked with a line the color of blood. Inside the red border, the Army and other NATO forces can operate freely. Outside the line, patrols must be bigger. And they require air escort. “Indian country,” one soldier calls these zones.