Introduction
Three days after the 9/11 attacks, President George W. Bush stood before the ruins of the shattered World Trade Center and rallied his stunned and wounded nation: “I can hear you! The rest of the world hears you! And the people -- and the people who knocked these buildings down will hear all of us soon!” The crowd responded with chants: “USA, USA, USA…” Within a month, America was at war in Afghanistan.
Thirteen years and more than 2,350 servicemember lives later, America is closing a chapter on the longest war in the nation’s history: Operation Enduring Freedom, the mission to rout al-Qaida and drive the Taliban from power in Afghanistan.
During those long years, the U.S. military – along with its NATO partners – have battled insurgents and worked to establish and train Afghan security forces. Along the way, the military has changed the way it fights, first in Afghanistan and later in Iraq.
It has adopted tactics of counterinsurgency. It has faced threats including suicide bombers, improvised explosive devices and enemies who wear no uniforms and fight among civilians that the troops are pledged to protect.
At the height of the Afghan war, the U.S. fielded more than 100,000 ground troops. By the end of this year, the number will fall to fewer than 10,000. It has been a war with mixed results. A fledgling Afghan democracy is in place. The architect of 9/11, Osama bin Laden is dead. But the Taliban remain bowed but not beaten. Going forward, the military’s primary mission is to advise and assist Afghan forces.
With the curtain coming down on combat operations, Stars and Stripes will spend the month of December looking back at the U.S. troops who have fought in the war, what they encountered, and how they coped.
The Faces of War
Marine Sgt. Joshua Stevens shaves in a jury-rigged bathroom on Jan. 2, 2003, in the U.S. Embassy in Kabul, which had abandoned more than a decade ago. A siphon using bottled water for brushing teeth has been built so the Marines have fresh, safe water. (David Josar/Stars and Stripes)
Nothing stops Spc. Luis G. Munozatehortua from getting in his workout on May 21, 2002. An infantryman with 2nd Battalion, 187th Infantry Regiment, part of the Fort Campbell, Ky-based 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Munozatehortua makes do with what he can find at Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan, fashioning some weights out a pair of 30 lbs. sandbags and a tent pole. (Jon R. Anderson/Stars and Stripes)
Soldiers, including Staff Sgt. Jonathan Neal, from Company A, 2nd Battalion, 503rd Parachute Infantry Regiment of the 173rd Airborne Brigade, watch the Denver Broncos cheerleaders perform at Camp Sweeney, Afghanistan, on July 4, 2005. The cheerleaders performed for about an hour, singing, dancing and performing skits at two bases, Camp Sweeney and Camp Lagman. (Jason Chudy/Stars and Stripes)
Pfc. Jason Huft spoons an Italian sausage and tomato sauce into a big pot of ziti noodles as he prepares supper for the men of Company C, 1st Battalion 32nd Infantry Regiment, 10th Mountain Division, at their base in the Pech River Valley in eastern Afghanistan on May 13, 2007. (Michael Abrams/Stars and Stripes)
Capt. Jason Wingeart, commander for Company B, 1st Battalion, 32nd Infantry Regiment and other company officers serve Thanksgiving chow at the austere Combat Outpost Charkh in Logar province, Afghanistan, on Nov. 26, 2009.(Geoff Ziezulewicz/Stars and Stripes)
There's no running water at Combat Outpost Coutu, so Staff Sgt. Kevin Barlow, 31, of Richmond, Va., and Lance Cpl. Christopher Bello, 23, of Jacksonville, N.C., shave with just ounces of water each in a plastic water bottle and metal canteen cup on March 9, 2010. (Drew Brown/Stars and Stripes)
Canadian Cpl. Josh Sutton tries to encourage a litter of kittens to go inside the house he and a Canadian sailor built for them on Nov. 27, 2010. The six found kittens, who had been abandoned by their mother, quickly became the most popular residents on FOB Edgerton, Afghanistan, for some of the soldiers. (Drew Brown/Stars and Stripes)
Trick-or-treaters roam COP Gormach in western Faryab Province on Halloween 2011. "Yeah, it's cold," said shirtless King Leonidas from 'The 300.' "My nipples are hard." "And there wasn't much candy," said a man dressed as Wolverine. (Neil Shea/Stars and Stripes)
Beer may be a staple of Super Bowls for many Americans, but in Afghanistan in 2012, the only beer available during the big game was non-alcoholic. (Matt Millham/Stars and Stripes)
Pfc. Connor Law watches a movie while getting a haircut from Staff Sgt. John Cox in his platoon's day room at Combat Outpost Sabari, Khost province on April 17, 2012. (Joshua L. DeMotts/Stars and Stripes)
Soldiers with the 1st Battalion, 501st Infantry Regiment take advantage of down time by squeezing on April 17, 2012, in a workout at Combat Outpost Sabari, Khost province. (Joshua L. DeMotts/Stars and Stripes)
Staff Sgt. Damian Remijio calls his girlfriend in Alaska on April 17, 2012, from the Morale, Welfare and Recreation room at Combat Outpost Sabari, Khost province. MWR facilities such as these will be used by servicemembers for four days under a new rest and recreation program being rolled out. (Joshua L. DeMotts/Stars and Stripes)
Sgt. Gregory Leatherman works on his swing at Combat Outpost Sabari shortly before going on leave on April 19, 2012. (Joshua L. DeMotts/Stars and Stripes)
Soldiers with the 1st Battalion, 501st Infantry Regiment deployed to Combat Outpost Sabari occasionally play poker to fill their downtime on April 19, 2012. (Joshua L. DeMotts/Stars and Stripes)
Air Force pararescuemen with the 46th Expeditionary Squadron, some waiting for a mission, some relaxing after a shift, at their headquarters at Camp Bastion on July 4, 2012, in Helmand province. (Joshua L. DeMotts/Stars and Stripes)
Sgt. Jonathan Daeuber with Company D of the 1st Battalion, 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment relaxes at a joint security station on July 6, 2012, in the village of Hasan in southern Ghazni province. (Martin Kuz/Stars and Stripes)
Air Force pararescuemen with the 46th Expeditionary Squadron, some waiting for a mission, some relaxing after a shift, at their headquarters at Camp Bastion on July 4, 2012, in Helmand province. (Laura Rauch/Stars and Stripes)
Capt. Patrick Rose, a physician's assistant with the 2nd Cavalry Regiment, smokes a cigar at Forward Operating Base Zangabad in southern Afghanistan's Kandahar Province, on Oct. 3, 2013. (Joshua L. DeMotts/Stars and Stripes)
Spc. Joshua Jarosz, Pfc. Christopher McKelvie and PV2 Miguel Lopez kill time in their room on Kandahar Airfield, Oct. 15, 2013. (Joshua L. DeMotts/Stars and Stripes)
Election Day
Afghan women line up outside a polling station at a mosque in Kabul on April 5, 2014. Long lines of Afghans, including women, often stretched for blocks early on election day. (Josh Smith/Stars and Stripes)
An Afghan election worker stands by ballot boxes just before the polls closed on April 5, 2014. Afghans formed lines for blocks to wait for their chance to cast a vote in the presidential election. (Josh Smith/Stars and Stripes)
Women staff polling stations designated for female voters in Kabul during a runoff presidential election on June 14, 2014. Each polling center had separate areas for men and women, both of whom seemed to turn out in lower numbers than during the initial election on April 5. (Josh Smith/Stars and Stripes)
Election oberservers sit in their designated area at a polling station in a girls' school in downtown Kabul on June 14, 2014, during the second round of voting in the presidential election. Independent election monitoring organizations, as well as individual campaigns sent observers to many polling locations. (Josh Smith/Stars and Stripes)
An Afghan woman casts her vote at a polling station in Kabul during a runoff election between Afghanistan's top two presidential candidates on June 14, 2014. Turnout appeared to be lower than during the first round when some 7 million people voted. (Josh Smith/Stars and Stripes)
A crowd supportive of Afghan presidential candidate Abdullah Abdullah shouts slogans accusing the government of committing fraud in the June 14, 2014, presidential election runoff in Kabul. Abdullah, who is running against former Finance Minister Ashraf Ghani, claims the election was rigged. (Heath Druzin/Stars and Stripes)
A man addresses a demonstration in Kabul in support of Afghan presidential candidate Abdullah Abdullah, who has claimed the June 14 presidential election runoff was rigged. The protests on Saturday, June 21, 2014, remained peaceful, but many are worried that as the election crisis deepens, the potential for violence is growing. (Heath Druzin/Stars and Stripes)
Supporters of Afghan presidential candidate Abdullah Abdullah stomp on a picture of current President Hamid Karzai before a rally in Kabul on July 8, 2014. Abdullah accuses Karzai of conspiring with other officials to rig the election.(Josh Smith/Stars and Stripes)
Supporters of Afghan presidential candidate Abdullah Abdullah cheer during a rally in Kabul on July 8, 2014. The candidate vowed he would not accept the results of the election because he believes they were fraudulent. (Josh Smith/Stars and Stripes)
Afghan presidential candidate Abdullah Abdullah speaks to supporters at a meeting in Kabul, on July 8, 2014 - the day after officials released preliminary election results. He told the crowd he would sacrifice himself before accepting fraudulent results. (Josh Smith/Stars and Stripes)
A woman prepares to vote at a polling station in eastern Kabul on April 5, 2014, during Afghanistan's presidential election. (Heath Druzin/Stars and Stripes)
Afghan presidential candidate Abdullah Abdullah greets supporters at a rally in Panjshir province on March 31, 2014. While he has faced accusations of playing up ethnic divides, Abdullah says ethnicity is fading as an issue in Afghan politics. (Josh Smith/Stars and Stripes)
Women wave flags and banners at a rally for Afghan presidential candidate Ashraf Ghani in Kabul on April 1, 2014. Afghans, especially youth, say they hope the country is moving away from the ethnic divisions that have marked politics in the past. (Josh Smith/Stars and Stripes)
An Afghan riot police officer looks over the crowd at a rally for Afghan presidential candidate Ashraf Ghani in Kabul on April 1, 2014. Rallies frequently attract thousands of people and can become rowdy as spectators jostle to get closer to the candidates. (Josh Smith/Stars and Stripes)
Afghan presidential candidate Ashraf Ghani waves to the crowd at a campaign rally in Kabul on April 1, 2014. He told supporters that the election represents a chance for the people of Afghanistan to put aside politics and lead. (Josh Smith/Stars and Stripes)
Afghan presidential candidate Abdullah Abdullah displays his ink-stained finger before voting at a high school in central Kabul on Saturday, April 5, 2014. (Josh Smith/Stars and Stripes)
Kabul resident Habib, 22, displays his ink-stained finger after voting at a mosque during the national elections on Saturday, April 5, 2014. (Josh Smith/Stars and Stripes)