For US troops, a little parenting is part of the mission

Soldiers in Qalat, the capital of Zabul Province, take a different approach to kids who throw rocks at passing military vehicles than soldiers in Kandahar City. When a boy hurls a rock at a Stryker belonging to the 2nd Battalion, 2nd Cavalry Regiment, they stop and look for the kid who threw it.

On Aug. 5, it wasn’t hard to find the perpetrator – all his friends were eager to point him out.

Soldiers from 2nd Squadron, 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment, investigate who threw a rock at their vehicle in Qalat Aug. 5. (Photo by Ben Brody for GlobalPost)

An interpreter working for the U.S. Army accuses a boy in Qalat of throwing a rock at a soldier's vehicle. (Photo by Ben Brody for GlobalPost)

(Photo by Ben Brody for GlobalPost)

An Afghan Army sergeant threatens to arrest a boy in Qalat who threw a rock at an American military vehicle. (Photo by Ben Brody for GlobalPost)

(Photo by Ben Brody for GlobalPost)

The boy apologizes, through an interpreter, to the soldiers whose Stryker he threw a rock at. The soldiers then let him go. (Photo by Ben Brody for GlobalPost)

An Afghan National Army soldier stands guard near a busy intersection in Qalat Aug. 5. (Photo by Ben Brody for GlobalPost)