Afghanistan

Afghan Convoy Attacked

Soldiers from 2nd Platoon, A Co, 1-503d Infantry Battalion, 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team and soldiers of the Afghanistan national army 6th Kandak arrive at the scene of an oil tanker that was attacked by anti-Afghanistan forces near Sheikhabad, Sayed Abad District, Wardak province, Afghanistan, Jan. 3. Soldiers from the 173rd ABCT and the ANA 6th Kandak routinely conduct as a joint quick reaction force when reports arrive of AAF activity or local national emergencies. (U.S. Army photo by 2nd Lt. Jeff Hall) Joint Combat Camera Afghanistan Date: 01.03.2010 Location: Sayed Abad, AF
Bild: DVIDSHUB

Clearing out the insurgency in Now Zad

Bombs burst after a strike by an F/A-18C Hornet figher-attack aircraft during a combat operation in the abandoned village of Now Zad, Helmand Province, Afghanistan, April 3. The residents of Now Zad were forced to abandon their homes nearly three years ago out of fear for their lives due to the strong presence of insurgents. By conducting combat operations here, Marines are bringing Now Zad closer to the reintroduction of Afghan-led governance. The Marines of Company L, 3rd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment (Reinforced), the ground combat element of Special Purpose Marine Air Ground Task Force - Afghanistan, have served in Now Zad since November 2008. SPMAGTF-A is committed to assisting the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan with providing security to the Afghan people. (Official U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Brian D. Jones)(Released)
Bild: United States Marine Corps Official Page

isafmedia – Flickr

Bild: isafmedia

Where The War Is

If you haven't heard of Wikileaks' recent release of 91,000 classified reports about the war in Afghanistan covering 2004 to 2010, you could start with the links here. I've put the raw data in a Fusion Table to look at it from different angles. The first result is this map showing where the war is taking place. More black means more war. The data also shows that for every 100 enemies killed or detained, about 150 civilians/friendlies were killed or wounded. You can browse the complete dataset in a Google Fusion Table. (The "war logs" at the Guardian only cover about 18% of all reports.)
Bild: Max Braun

hailippe – Flickr

Bild: hailippe

Adding GPS to Skyhook

The iPhone has been having problems finding me in Afghanistan, probably because it's far outside of the range where it usually calculates GPS coords. In an attempt to get it to find me I registered my wifi MAC address and GPS coords with SkyHook, the company which does the wifi locations. It's pretty easy, and might be useful for people to know about who are operating outside the wire.
Bild: Todd Huffman

The ZEUS Military Laser System

CURRENTLY IN USE IN AFGHANISTAN (AND IRAQ?) The U.S. Army is using a humvee, equipped with a laser gun turret, called the Zeus-HLONS (HMMWV Laser Ordnance Neutralization System) in Afghanistan. They are using it over there to clear roadside bombs, as it is a lot safer to shoot the mines with the Zeus laser, than setting explosives beside un-exploded munitions, which they would normally have to do. As you can see from the picture, above, this kind of weaponary is highly mobile, can reach fast speeds, and the damage it can cause, when developed, can easily out-do the biggest of missiles. Oh, and each subsequent show costs very little. Taking all these facts into consideration, even the most powerful and up to date tanks must now look like pussycats. There are reports going around that Zeus may be being used in Iraq too, as locals there have described a strange looking tank, similar to the Zeus. Image: Public Domain
Bild: BlatantNews.com

Bundeswehr-Fotos – Flickr

Bild: Bundeswehr-s

Bundeswehr-Fotos – Flickr

Bild: Bundeswehr-s

jonmallard – Flickr

Bild: jonmallard