Taliban Use Guerrilla Tactics In Helmand Province
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Monday, July 13, 2009
Back From The Front Lines In Helmand Province
July 13, 2009 About 4,000 U.S. Marines in southern Afghanistan are engaged in the largest American military operation in years: rooting out the Taliban in Helmand province. Two NPR journalists who spent time with Marines share two distinctly different stories of how the offensive is unfolding.
Mourning A Marine Killed In Afghanistan
July 13, 2009 Family and friends held a funeral in Adairsville, Ga., for Lance Cpl. Charles Seth Sharp. He was the first Marine killed in the start of a major operation in Afghanistan's Helmand province. He had served previously in Iraq.
Thursday, July 09, 2009
Marines Seek To Forge Bonds While Pursuing Taliban
July 9, 2009 The Marines of the 2nd Battalion, 8th Regiment's Fox Company are part of a massive military offensive under way in southern Afghanistan. After landing in a largely peaceful village, the Marines are trying to build positive ties with locals while seeking out enemy Taliban.
Monday, July 06, 2009
Saturday, July 04, 2009
Targets On Their Backs, Marines Enter Afghan Town
July 4, 2009 The Marines of the 2nd Battalion, 8th Regiment — known as "America's Battalion" — are prepared for anything as they move into the southern village of Sorhodez in the Marine offensive to wrest Afghanistan's Helmand River valley from Taliban control.
Friday, July 03, 2009
Families Of 'America's Battalion' Wait For News
July 3, 2009 Marines with the 2nd Battalion, 8th Regiment, known as "America's Battalion," are part of the force that has launched a major assault in southern Afghanistan. On the night they went into battle, families at home heard the news — and began reaching out for information about loved ones.
Thursday, July 02, 2009
First U.S. Casualties Reported In Afghanistan Push
July 2, 2009 At least one Marine has been killed and several others injured as a predawn operation launched Thursday continued in Afghanistan's volatile Helmand province. About 4,000 Marines are setting up positions in a river valley that has been Taliban stronghold. The operation is the first test of the Obama administration's new counter-insurgency strategy.
Marine General Takes Fight To The Taliban
July 2, 2009 Brig. Gen. Larry Nicholson, a veteran of Iraq, is leading the 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade in its fight against the Taliban in Afghanistan. He exhorted his troops in a recent speech to besiege the enemy until the Taliban is dead or surrenders.
Wednesday, July 01, 2009
Marines Launch Assault In Taliban Stronghold
July 1, 2009 Thousands of helicopter-borne Marines launched a massive assault early Thursday in southern Afghanistan's Helmand River valley, the main source of the Taliban's cash crop, the poppies that produce heroin. The mission is the first major test of the Obama administration.
Bomb-Sniffing Dogs Deploy In Afghanistan
July 1, 2009 Roadside bombs are the greatest threat facing troops in Afghanistan. Metal detectors can find many of these bombs. But increasingly, insurgents are using homemade explosives that contain little metal. Now, U.S. Marines are training bomb-sniffing dogs to detect this type of explosive.
Monday, June 22, 2009
Marines Train To Conquer Taliban, Their Own Fears
June 22, 2009 In 100-degree heat in the southern Afghanistan desert, U.S. Marines from the 2nd Battalion, 8th Regiment are training physically and mentally to prepare for their mission: battling the Taliban insurgency. Their leaders are teaching them to handle the enemy, as well as their own doubts.
