Afghan National Security and International Security Assistance Forces captured a Taliban leader and detained numerous suspected insurgents during security operations in Kajaki District, Helmand province, yesterday.

The leader provided support to the Taliban by running drug trade and smuggling operations. He operated in the Kajaki and Sangin areas of northern Helmand as a financier and facilitator and reported to senior Taliban leaders. He had significant influence over the Sangin Taliban and direct ties with the deputy insurgent leader.

No one has ever claimed that conducting convoy operations through Afghanistan is a piece of cake. Soldiers who’ve only been deployed to Iraq quickly learn a valuable lesson once they land on the ground here: the rules in Baghdad or Mosul don’t apply.

The only constant in this region’s unforgiving landscape is change: that is, change in weather, routes and road conditions. This was a lesson soldiers of the 131th Transportation Company learned after they spent 25 consecutive days on the road this winter.

Need a laptop? Okay. Need a copy machine? Done. Need a mine resistant ambush protected vehicle? On its way.
Deployed to Ali Air Base, Iraq, two NCOs have united to maximize support for the war in Afghanistan while rewarding others in Iraq.

As members of the Tallil redistribution property assistance team, Staff Sgts. Esther Roboch and William Ruble came together with the same goal in mind -- help send support to the fight in Afghanistan as much as possible and ensure military members in Iraq can return home.

The Marine Corps has often been described as the tip of the spear for the U.S. military, but before Marines step off on patrol or a convoy leaves the forward operating base, another group of Marines has already carefully calculated everything they may need for the mission. Everything from the food and ammunition to the amount of fuel needed is identified well in advance to ensure the mission is a success. It takes a lot of manpower and coordination to properly support the Marines on the front lines.

The soldiers of Company B, 334th Brigade Support Battalion, Task Force Archer, operate a forward repair station on Bagram Air Field seven days a week to keep all the soldiers of the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 34th Infantry Division, Task Force Red Bulls, which they are a part of, rolling.

Mortars are the most responsive indirect fire asset available to small unit commanders during the heat of close quarters combat, and the effectiveness of this weapon system is dependent on the proficiency of the mortar crew.

Mortar men assigned to 1st Squadron, 9th Cavalry Regiment, 4th Advise and Assist Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division trained soldiers assigned to 3rd Battalion, 11th Brigade, 3rd Iraqi Army Division on how to operate the unit's three types of mortar systems at Ghuzlani Warrior Training Center, March 12.

Afghan National Security and International Security Assistance Forces captured two Haqqani network facilitators and detained several suspected insurgents, during security operations in Sabari district, Khost province, yesterday.

One facilitator was responsible for the transfer of weapons and ammunition, as well as reporting on Afghan and coalition force movements. He also managed supply routes and provided financial, media and logistical support to the network. The second facilitator provided operational support for the network and acquired equipment for use in attacks.

Since 1943, security forces airmen have toed the line of defence for U.S. Air Force bases in America and abroad, and sometimes in hostile environments.

Helping to build capability similar to that of the U.S. Air Force security forces, airmen deploy on six-month rotations to Shindand Air Base, Herat province, Afghanistan, and advise Afghan air force security forces there.

Currently a team of 838th Air Expeditionary Advisory Group officers and non-commissioned officers, made up of airmen from the U.S. and Italian Air Forces are guiding dozens of AAF airmen.

The All-American Commander presented the Distinguished Flying Cross to Chief Warrant Officer Carlos M. Roman, at Simmons Army Airfield, Mar. 14, for his actions while serving in Afghanistan with the 3rd Combat Aviation Brigade.

Soldiers, Family members and friends gathered to honor Roman, an AH-64D Apache helicopter pilot who now serves with the 1st Attack Reconnaissance Battalion, 82nd Combat Aviation Brigade, as Maj. Gen. James L. Huggins, the commanding general of the 82nd Airborne Division, pinned his award.