Embed with Marines

Here are some pictures from my three week embed in Helmand province in April/May. Hot as hell and surrounded by poppy plants. The platoon I was with traded fire with Taliban militants about twice a day -- morning and evening. We had to take cover for incoming rockets, but I never really felt in danger.

The first pic is me taking a picture of AP Photographer David Guttenfelder. The photo he was taking here was on the front page of the NY Times on May 3.


The foreground isn't poppy, but the background is:


This is a photo of several dozen resupply parachutes being dropped outside of a firebase in Helmand province.