Helmand Province, Afghanistan (NEW YORK TIMES) - Since last summer, the Marines have expanded their presence along the Helmand River, and as more troops flow into the country the momentum is pushing them farther into territory long out of Afghan government control.
They now operate a web of outposts and patrol bases that dot the farmland and the steppe of Helmand Province, and they patrol regularly around and between them. Their sustained presence in many districts, along with the decrease in vegetation that followed fall harvests and the onset of cold Afghan weather, has left Taliban fighters with less ability to hide in a gunfight. Winter has brought a decrease in small-arms attacks.
This is especially true at night, when the Marines’ thermal sights and night-vision equipment, along with their better marksmanship skills, give them a distinct advantage over Afghans they face. The Marines also have weapons on vehicle turrets and in bunkers at outposts — .50-caliber machine guns and MK-19 automatic grenade launchers — that provide lethal stand-off against lightly equipped men, the more so on January’s relatively bald terrain.
full article atwar.blogs.nytimes.com
