Since soldiers at Combat Outpost Lakokhel have conducted few patrols since their arrival last month, they know of the neighboring village only what they can see from their gun towers. The area is a hotly contested region of western Zhari, and the soldiers are waiting for reinforcements before mounting any ambitious ground operations.
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Sgt. 1st Class Galen Bisel, the senior enlisted man at Lakokhel, talks to his soldiers about upcoming missions.
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From Combat Outpost Lakokhel soldiers watch a fuel tanker burn on the highway about five miles away. The tanker accidentally overturned near Howz-e Madad, and was intentionally set ablaze by Compass Convoy Security contractors after they were unable to right it.
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An Afghan National Army soldier in Lakokhel.
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A squad leader with the Afghan National Army patrols through grape rows with his U.S. counterparts in western Zhari July 21.
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Afghan and American soldiers based at Combat Outpost Lakokhel walk to a nearby village to meet with elders July 21.
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At the edge of an opium poppy field, Soldiers from B Company, 2nd Battalion, 502nd Infantry speak with a man who claims to be the nephew of the nearby village elder.
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Sgt. Orlando Gonzalez from B Company, 2nd Battalion, 502nd Infantry walks past vast fields of cannabis while on patrol near his base.
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An Afghan soldier inspects a donkey cart in Lakokhel during a patrol July 21.
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An Afghan soldier smokes hashish with residents of Lakokhel during a joint patrol with U.S. troops July 21.
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A young resident of Lakokhel stares at American troops in his village, likely the first foreigners he has ever seen.
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Spc. Adam Linehan, a medic with 2nd Battalion, 502nd Infantry, pauses for a break to unfog his goggles during a patrol July 21.
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Soldiers from B Company, 2nd Battalion, 502nd Infantry photograph a resident of Lakokhel with a special camera that enters him into a biometric database.
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Spc. Jacob Carver from B Company, 2nd Battalion, 502nd Infantry, catches his breath in a grape field after a long patrol.
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After a guard shift, Pfc. Ricky Munoz watches a movie on his laptop.
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A tattered Afghan flag hangs from a guard tower at Combat Outpost Lakokhel July 18.
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