U.S. and Afghan troops, side by side

At Combat Outpost Lakokhel, a tiny ring of sandbags in western Zhari District, U.S. and Afghan soldiers train and patrol side by side. Each guard tower is manned by one Afghan and one American at a time. They live on opposite sides of the installation, about 150 feet apart. Each has their own supply chains, but the Afghans sneak over to steal MREs and Gatorade and the Americans ask them for roasted goat, tea and bread from the nearby Howz-e Madad bazaar.

Unlike many Afghan units in Kandahar, many of these soldiers are from nearby districts and speak Pashtu — which greatly aids them in forming relationships with local villagers. They have some bad habits, like smoking copious amounts of hashish and firing thousands of machine gun rounds at nothing in particular.

In the next few weeks, the Afghan unit is to be replaced by a new group fresh from basic training and the U.S. infantrymen are hopeful that they’ll be able to mold them into better soldiers than their current counterparts. They may be able to train them to exercise better fire discipline but unless the Afghan National Army can attract recruits more motivated than Kandahari teenagers desperate for any kind of work, it’s unlikely the new unit will impress the U.S. infantrymen.

Afghan National Army soldiers, prepare for a patrol at Combat Outpost Lakokhel in Kandahar Province July 19. (Photo by Ben Brody for GlobalPost)

Afghan National Army soldiers listen to music on a cellphone at Combat Outpost Lakokhel in Kandahar Province July 19. (Photo by Ben Brody for GlobalPost)