Kandahar to Herat

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-9 Days till national elections/49 days till I get home

Helmand Province in south Afghanistan is a popular hotbed for opium-at times you could see the poppys from the main ring route. Fortunately, we saw only minor hostile activity and dropped most of our convoy off at FOB Tombstone. We continued on to FOB Delaram, a marine camp in west Helmand, and stayed there for a couple of days before getting an escort to take us to Camp Stone in Herat.

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Photos

resting
waiting for ANA to refuel at FOB Tombstone

opium
Opium poppies provide a colorful contrast across the desert sand landscape

Traveling across Helmand
Leaving FOB Tombstone

Sunset
After arriving at FOB Delaram

Flag
A nice reminder

Mountain overlooking Delaram
At times, the terrain took on a martian like tint during sunset

helicopter
Cobra taking off early morning at Delaram

Sunrise
Early morning and its already hot here

Dustdevil
A common site throughout the trip

Dust part II
More of the same in an open field

Shindand
Making new friends at a stop in Shindand to fuel up

Local buddies
It didn't take long for them to get my interpreter to tell me they wanted candy

shy spectator
a young girl checking out things from afar

water?
Most of the landscape is dry from decades of drought conditions, but this little creek was a welcome surprise

lunchtime
Eating granola bar while ANA refuels

Almost there
A few miles from Herat

Arrival
Finally, after hundreds of miles and hundreds of hours, we finally pull in the gate at Herat

Comments

[Ted]

top afghanistan blog
Hi!, I have compiled a list of the top Afghanistan blogs, and yours was included! check it out at http://thedailyreviewer.com/top/Afghanistan You can claim your link badge at http://thedailyreviewer.com/pages/badges

[cabochick]

wow!
Hi William. Your pics and blogs are amazing! It gives us back home a real idea of what you guys are going through each day. wow. nice touch seeing the reality of life in Afghanistan too....i.e. kids, puppies, stores, fields of poppies. Thanks again and please stay safe! Andrea

[Will134]

thanks for the comment Andrea!

[Scott Pfister]

I served in Shindand
Hi William: I stumbled across your blog and was interested in your Shindand picture. I served in Shindand on an ETT / PMT last year. I was with VT, but came in with the 27th. Only a few more weeks for you. Good luck and be safe.

[Margoth Schmidt]

You are wonderful
Thanks so much for the wonderful pictures and for narrating such an incredible journey, it made me feel closer to my son, he is a Navy Corpsman and is now somewhere in Delaram.. Our phone conversations are short there is so much to say...but such a little time. We said I love you several times, but I understand that he is on a rush. He is so excited about this mission. Your pictures helped me to understand and visualize more about that place. Thanks for being nice to the children I am praying daily for my son and all our Armed Forces. God Bless you.