“Moon Dust”

Soldiers from C Company, 2nd Battalion, 502nd Infantry, fill sandbags at Howz Madad near sunset on July 17. Once they have filled all the bags they brought, the soldiers will hoist them into the guard towers that ring their small base here — towers that come under attack almost daily. The tower guards said they consider an hour-long firefight in the early morning just part of their daily routine.

The sandbags are actually filled with what soldiers refer to as “moondust” since it has the consistency of flour and creeps deep into their weapons, causing difficult jams — often at the worst possible time. Early on this day, one of the towers was attacked and while soldiers were able to repel the attack with their light machine guns, their sniper rifle and their grenade launcher were rendered inoperable from the moondust.

(Photo by Ben Brody for GlobalPost)

(Photo by Ben Brody for GlobalPost)

(Photo by Ben Brody for GlobalPost)