May 23, 2013 10:14 AM ET
Posted by Bill Ardolino

An Afghan National Army (ANA) soldier assigned to the Mobile Strike Force Kandak fires a RPG-7 rocket-propelled grenade launcher during a live-fire exercise supervised by the Marines with the Mobile Strike Force Advisor Team on Camp Shorabak, Helmand province, Afghanistan, May 20, 2013. US Marine Corps photo by Staff Sergeant Ezekiel R. Kitandwe/Released.

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May 20, 2013 11:32 AM ET
Posted by Bill Ardolino

Via ISAF Joint Command Facebook page: An ISAF coalition force member provides security for Afghan soldiers deploying within Afghanistan. The deployment process is part of the transition of security to the Afghan National Security Force before coalition forces depart in 2014. U.S. Army photo by Sergeant Matthew Freire.

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May 10, 2013 2:52 PM ET
Posted by Bill Ardolino

A girl stands in the road near an Afghan Uniform Police checkpoint in the Zangabad area of Panjwai district, Kandahar province, Afghanistan. Photo by Bill Ardolino for The Long War Journal.

Private First Class Dustin Byrd and "Sassy" the bomb-sniffing dog walk by a poppy field. Photo by Bill Ardolino for The Long War Journal.

A crewman stands in the back of a Chinook helicopter flying over the district. Photo by Bill Ardolino for The Long War Journal.

Farmers on their way to work. Photo by Bill Ardolino for The Long War Journal.

Soldiers with 4-9 Infantry patrol from an Afghan Local Police checkpoint in Zangabad. Photo by Bill Ardolino for The Long War Journal.

Kids play around a PK general-purpose machine gun at an Afghan Local Police checkpoint. Photo by Bill Ardolino for The Long War Journal.

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May 8, 2013 3:28 PM ET
Posted by Bill Ardolino

An Afghan Uniform Police (AUP) officer serves tea at a checkpoint in Panjwai district, Kandahar province, Afghanistan. Photo by Bill Ardolino for The Long War Journal.

A little girl stands in a doorway at a compound housing an Afghan Local Police checkpoint. Photo by Bill Ardolino for The Long War Journal.

Afghan civilians pull over to the side of the road as a convoy of American vehicles passes by. Photo by Bill Ardolino for The Long War Journal.

An Apache attack helicopter circles over a patrol conducted by soldiers with 4-9 Infantry. Air support, usually consisting of two Kiowa helicopters and one Apache, was almost always overhead in the Zangabad area of Panjwai, weather permitting. Photo by Bill Ardolino for The Long War Journal.

A US soldier with 4-9 Infantry flexes outside an Afghan Uniform Police checkpoint in the Zangabad area of Panjwai district. Photo by Bill Ardolino for The Long War Journal.

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May 3, 2013 1:11 PM ET
Posted by Bill Ardolino

A soldier with 3rd Platoon, Comanche Company, 4-9 Infantry, patrols outside of Forward Operating Base Zangabad in Panjwai district, Afghanistan on April 7. Photo by Bill Ardolino for The Long War Journal.

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May 1, 2013 2:33 PM ET
Posted by Bill Ardolino

A US soldier with Battalion Mortars Steel Platoon, HH Company, 4-9 Infantry prepares to load a 120mm mortar in the back of a Stryker armored vehicle during a night registration in Panjwai district, Kandahar province, Afghanistan. Photo by Bill Ardolino for The Long War Journal.

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April 29, 2013 1:19 PM ET
Posted by Bill Ardolino

US troops with First Platoon, Comanche Company, 4-9 Infantry and an interpreter instruct Afghan Uniform Police (AUP) officers on how to use IED detectors at a checkpoint in Panjwai district on April 5, 2013. Photo by Bill Ardolino for The Long War Journal.

An Afghan cop takes a break from training. The above officer learned how to use the handheld detectors fairly well, according to a US trainer, while some others were "way too stoned" on cannabis. Photo by Bill Ardolino for The Long War Journal.

An Afghan police officer poses with a "Minehound" handheld mine detector, which is capable of identifying both metallic and non-metallic IEDs. US trainers are uncertain how many of the detectors will be left with local forces as American troops draw down, but note that the Afghans, especially the local police, have an uncanny ability to spot the bombs even without detectors. Still, Afghan personnel suffer casualties at a higher rate than US forces, especially since taking the lead in combat operations. Photo by Bill Ardolino for The Long War Journal.

Platoon Leader First Lieutenant Tom Stanley tries on a police officer's hat while chatting with AUP Checkpoint Commander Sergeant Niamatullah. The two leaders discussed an operation proposed by the Afghan cop to take place the following week.

"We have a plan put in place for a joint patrol where they are the main effort," explained Stanley. "[Niamatullah] wants to go up there (points) and put a big [Afghan] flag on that hill. I guess it's a slap in the face of the Taliban, and the DCOP (district chief of police) is planning on putting a checkpoint up there." Photo by Bill Ardolino for The Long War Journal.

A disconnected pressure plate of the variety connected to buried bombs that target foot patrols was used for training purposes in the counter-IED training. When the wooden box bows, contacts connect, completing an electrical circuit and detonating explosives. Photo by Bill Ardolino for The Long War Journal.

An Afghan police officer mouths a hash cigarette after offering it to this reporter with a laugh and the enunciation, "Hasheeeesh!" Photo by Bill Ardolino for The Long War Journal.

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April 26, 2013 2:46 PM ET
Posted by Bill Ardolino

An anti-insurgency billboard in the Zangabad area of Panjwai district, Kandahar province, Afghanistan. The Zangabad area is the birthplace of a recent tribal uprising against the Taliban. The sign reads: "You are not alone in this struggle. Please inform [us] about the crimes of the enemies of peace. [phone number]." Photo by Bill Ardolino for The Long War Journal.

The billboard in the Zangabad area of Panjwai reads, "You have sworn when you participated in the local police that you will stand firm against the enemies of peace and will harshly defeat them." Inside the logo, it says in Pashto and Dari, "Afghan National Police" and "Afghan Local Police." The police forces, especially recently recruited Afghan Local Police officers, are considered the primary security elements that are consolidating gains against the Taliban. As areas are cleared of insurgents, the ALP, essentially a modestly trained local militia, is tasked with holding the terrain via a growing number of checkpoints. Photo by Bill Ardolino for The Long War Journal.

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April 24, 2013 9:15 AM ET
Posted by Bill Ardolino

A soldier with 3rd Platoon, Comanche Company, 4-9 Infantry, keeps watch on Afghan local police (ALP) officers while other soldiers and cops conduct a meeting in the Zangabad area of Panjwai district, Kandahar province, Afghanistan. "Guardian Angels" are US troops specifically tasked with preventing insider, or "green-on-blue" attacks by Afghan personnel. Photo by Bill Ardolino for The Long War Journal.

A soldier with 4-9 Infantry keeps watch over a meeting with Afghan Uniform Police (AUP) officers at a checkpoint near the Sperwan area of Panjwai district. Photo by Bill Ardolino for The Long War Journal.

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April 14, 2013 8:32 AM ET
Posted by Bill Ardolino

First Lieutenant Ben Cummings, commander of 2nd Platoon, Bayonet Company, 1-38 Infantry, studies a map inside a Stryker armored vehicle en route to an Afghan Uniform Police (ALP) checkpoint in Panjwai district, Kandahar province, Afghanistan. Photo by Bill Ardolino for The Long War Journal.

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April 9, 2013 1:36 PM ET
Posted by Bill Ardolino

An Afghan Local Police (ALP) officer sits above a poppy field in the Zangabad area of Panjwai district in Kandahar province on April 9. Photo by Bill Ardolino for The Long War Journal.

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April 6, 2013 9:34 PM ET
Posted by Bill Ardolino

A US sniper with First Platoon, Comanche Company, 4-9 Infantry scans the area from atop Hesco ramparts at an Afghan Uniform Police checkpoint in the Zangabad area of Panjwai district, Kandahar province, Afghanistan on April 5. Photo by Bill Ardolino for The Long War Journal.

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April 2, 2013 3:35 PM ET
Posted by Bill Ardolino

A unit of Afghan National Civil Order Police (ANCOP) officers in an armored Humvee patrols central Panjwai district in Kandahar province on March 28. Photo by Bill Ardolino for The Long War Journal.

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March 30, 2013 12:05 PM ET
Posted by Bill Ardolino

Afghan Uniform Police (AUP) officers sort through a discovered cache of old weapons and ammunition at Panjwai district police headquarters. Photo by Bill Ardolino for The Long War Journal.

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March 27, 2013 10:44 AM ET
Posted by Bill Ardolino

A local elder presses a case for property rights during a "land shura" at the district government headquarters in Panjwai district, Kandahar province, Afghanistan on March 25. American military personnel and Afghan government officials held the shura to discuss the claims of local residents who own land that has been used for International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) combat outposts. Various facilities are being transitioned to Afghan government control as ISAF withdraws, and residents argue that they have not been compensated for the use of their property. After an impassioned discussion between Afghan civilians and US military personnel, the shura broached but failed to resolve the matter. Photo by Bill Ardolino for The Long War Journal.

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