Chad Garland

Pictured here in an undated photo is the SuperAV, developed by BAE Systems and Iveco Defense Vehicles for the Marine Corps' amphibious combat vehicle. Marine Corps Systems Command awarded a contract to BAE Systems to produce the first of three planned models of the ACV on Tuesday, June 19, 2018. <br>Marine Corps Systems

Marines award BAE $200 million to build new amphibious combat vehicle

Fleet Marines are set to get a more reliable, faster and better protected amphibious fighting vehicle starting in late 2020 as the Corps begins replacing its decades-old amphibious assault vehicle.

This undated company photo from PepperBall Technologies shows a police officer using the Variable Kinetic System, which fires round or shaped projectiles filled with pepper powder that burst and create a cloud of irritant powder upon impact. The weapon can be used to disperse rioters and can be effective even when fired at the ground in front of a person or crowd, the company says.

<br>PepperBall Technologies

Coalition troops in Afghanistan get training on spicy new weapons

Nearly three dozen troops have been trained on a new weapon that looks and feels like a standard-issue carbine but fires nonlethal rounds that explode on impact and release a cloud of irritating pepper powder, military officials said Tuesday.

Sayad Ahmad Jahangir, 21, a bricklayer, is pictured here at a gathering of peace marchers at Kabul's Abdul Rakhman Mosque on Monday, June 18, 2018. Jahangir joined the march in Ghazni province, when the convoy passed through his home district 15 days earlier.
<br>Chad Garland/Stars and Stripes

Peace marchers arrive in Kabul as Taliban restarts anti-government offensives

Dozens of men who marched hundreds of miles across Afghanistan arrived in Kabul with demands for an end to decades of conflict on Monday, shortly after the Taliban ended its brief cease-fire.

Afghan troops and Taliban fighters greet each other in Mihtarlam, the capital of Afghanistan's Laghman province, on Saturday, June 16, 2018, during a historic pair of unilateral cease-fires coinciding with the Eid al-Fitr holiday.
<br>Courtesy of Iftekhar Safi

Taliban sends fighters back to trenches in Afghanistan after 3-day cease-fire

The Taliban ordered their fighters back to the trenches Sunday hours after a suicide car bombing spoiled a holiday cease-fire.

Taliban fighters pass through the Surkhroad district of Nangarhar province, east of Kabul, Afghanistan, on Saturday, June 16, 2018, after a suicide bomber killed 21 people.<br>Rahmat Gal/AP

Afghan president orders cease-fire extension even as suicide attack mars holiday truce

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani ordered an indefinite extension to a government cease-fire with the Taliban late Saturday, even as a blast in eastern Afghanistan cast a pall over a countrywide celebration of the Eid al-Fitr holiday and historic dual cease-fires.

Brig. Gen. Abdul Raziq Safi, commander of the Afghan army's 4th Brigade, 203rd Corps, shakes hands with a suspected Taliban fighter on Friday, June 15, 2018, in Logar province's capital of Pul-e-Alam during the first day of a three-day Taliban cease-fire against the government.

<br>J.P. Lawrence/Stars and Stripes

Dual cease-fires met with hugs between Taliban and Afghan soldiers

The first day of the Eid holiday in eastern Afghanistan brought a strange sight — presumed Taliban fighters walking up to Afghan soldiers at checkpoints and taking selfies with them.

Soldiers of the 191st Regional Support Group Forward, deployed from Fort Allen, Puerto Rico, are pictured here preparing to cut an Army birthday cake during a ceremony at the NATO Resolute Support mission headquarters dining facility on Thursday, June 14, 2018, in Kabul, Afghanistan. Cake-cutters, from left, Lt. Col. Norberto Torres-Roca, Command Sgt. Maj. Andres Ruiz and Cpl. Ruby Cruz Quinones. Per tradition, Torres, 55, and Quinones, 24, were designated to cut the cake as the oldest and youngest soldiers present. <br>Chad Garland/Stars and Stripes

Soldiers celebrate Army’s birthday with 'All American' feast in Kabul

The dining facility at NATO’s Resolute Support helped celebrate the Army’s 243rd birthday Thursday by dishing up an “all-American lunch” of prime rib, crab legs, baked potatoes, shrimp scampi and a massive sheet cake.

A soldier with the Afghan National Army's 215th Corps takes notes in an offensive and defensive tactics course at Camp Shorabak, Helmand Province, June 3, 2018. Afghan President Ashraf Ghani announced last week that an eight-day truce would begin Tuesday and stretch through the Eid holiday that marks the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.<br>Luke Hoogendam/U.S. Marine Corps

Taliban keep fighting as Kabul government’s cease-fire begins

Despite the eight-day truce announced by the Afghan government, the Taliban has remained on the offensive, mounting attacks in northern Afghanistan a day after the Kabul government’s pause in combat operations against the group began.

Afghan security personnel arrives at the site of suicide attack in the city of Jalalabad east of Kabul, Afghanistan, Monday, June 11, 2018. A suicide bomber wounded at least 10 civilians when he struck near the education department in the eastern city of Jalalabad.<br>Mohammad Anwar Danishyar/AP

Attacks in Afghanistan kill dozens day before cease-fire with Taliban

A suicide bomber on foot detonated his explosives near a van full of government employees on Monday, killing at least 12 people ahead of an anticipated Taliban cease-fire.

Soldiers with the Afghan National Army's 215th Corps listen to instructors in an offensive and defensive tactics course at Camp Shorabak in Helmand province on Sunday, June 3, 2018. <br>U.S. Marine Corps/Sgt. Luke Hoogendam

Taliban splinter group declares open-ended truce with Kabul

The splinter group, led by Mullah Mohammad Rasul, said late Saturday its stand-down would begin immediately and last until an unspecified future date.

Australian Defence Force personnel during a ceremony at Multi-National Base-Tarin Kot, Afghanistan, on Oct. 28, 2013.<br>U.S. Department of Defense

Leaked inquiry: Australian special operators committed war crimes in Afghanistan

Elite Australian troops committed “unsanctioned and illegal” violence in Afghanistan with a “disregard for human life,” special operations soldiers told a secret military inquiry, an Australian newspaper reported Friday.

Chief Warrant Officer 2 Ryan Amato, assigned to 1st Battalion, 189th Aviation Regiment, prepares an iced coffee for Spc Sarah Morris at the Dustoff Coffee shop at Camp Taji, Iraq May 18, 2018.<br>Briana McFarland/U.S. Army

Not your typical hipster coffee joint: Guardsmen deployed to Iraq open a spot for lattes and more

A group of Oregon National Guard soldiers transformed a second-hand espresso machine at Iraq’s Camp Taji Military Complex into their own coffee shop. Funds collected in a donation jar are used for projects to boost morale and promote unit cohesion.

NATO commander in Afghanistan Gen. John W. Nicholson speaks at a ceremony in October 2017. <br>Randall Pike/U.S. Army

Afghan president, US forces commit to weeklong unilateral cease-fire with Taliban

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani on Thursday announced a weeklong cease-fire with the Taliban beginning next week, lasting through the end of Ramadan and into one of the holiest periods of the year for Muslims.

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg appear at a news conference at NATO headquarters in 2014. Kabul announced on Tuesday, June 5, 2018, that it had approved an offer by the United Arab Emirates to provide troops to NATO's Resolute Support mission.<br>NATO

Kabul approves UAE’s offer of troops for NATO mission

Afghan officials have approved the United Arab Emirates’ offer to contribute troops to NATO’s Resolute Support mission to advise and train Afghanistan’s security forces, a move that could bring an Islamic ally into the fight against extremism.

Emergency Center - a surgical hospital in Kabul pictured here - admitted more patients in May 2018 than it has in any month since it opened in 2001.<br>Chad Garland/Stars and Stripes

Kabul’s Emergency Center war hospital busier than it’s been since 2001

The Emergency Surgical Center for War Victims, or Emergency Center, in Kabul reported 421 admissions in May, compared with 384 in the same month last year, when a massive truck bomb went off a few blocks from the medical facility on the last day of the month.

Uniforms that appear to feature a camouflage pattern similar to the one worn by U.S. troops are on display at the Bush Bazaar in Kabul, Afghanistan, on Thursday, May 31, 2018, the day after a group of militants wearing outdated U.S. Army uniforms attempted to storm Afghanistan's Interior Ministry.

Chad Garland/Stars and Stripes<br>Chad Garland/Stars and Stripes

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US-style military uniforms like those used in Kabul attack are freely sold in Afghan markets

At the Kabul market known as “Bush Bazaar,” shops sell military goods of suspect origins — everything from what U.S. troops wear on their backs to what they put in their bellies, and more. Many of the goods may have been pilfered from military supply shipments.

Security personnel block the road after a suicide attack in Kabul, Afghanistan, Monday, June 4, 2018. <br>Rahmat Gul/AP

Suicide bomber kills 7 at religious meeting that had condemned suicide attacks

The bomber detonated his explosives at about 11:20 a.m., at the entrance of a large hall where a religious body known as the Afghan Ulema Council was meeting.

The home fries and ribs are something special at Hakim's Imbiss and Steak House in Heidelberg, Germany.<br>Chad Garland/Stars and Stripes

RV rib shack conceals hidden culinary treasure in Heidelberg

Tempted by online reviews promising “the best ribs in Germany,” two Stars and Stripes reporters recently trekked to Heidelberg to visit Hakim’s Imbiss and Steak House.

The body of a militant fighter, wearing a U.S. military uniform, lies inside the Interior Ministry building after a deadly attack, in Kabul, Afghanistan, Wednesday, May 30, 2018.<br>Rahmat Gul/AP

Gunmen dressed as US soldiers attack Afghan Interior Ministry

It’s not clear who carried out the attack — one of at least three that occurred in Afghanistan on Wednesday — that targeted the Interior Ministry’s compound a few hundred yards from Kabul’s airport and a coalition air base where Americans and their allies train Afghan forces.

Afghanistan’s National Security Council Sgt. Major Roshan Safi holds his head in his hands during an emotional Memorial Day event at NATO’s Resolute Support mission headquarters in Kabul, Afghanistan, on Monday, May 28, 2018.<br>Chad Garland/Stars and Stripes

Memorial Day in Afghanistan pays tribute to American war dead

A field of lights and a display of names and photos projected on a blast wall here Monday night paid tribute to the more than 2,400 Americans who’ve died as part of the United States’ nearly 17-year war in Afghanistan.

Staff Sgt. Conrad A. Robinson died Thursday in Kosovo, the Pentagon said.<br>U.S. Army

Fort Bragg-based soldier dies in Kosovo

The staff sergeant died Thursday from a noncombat-related incident at Camp Bondsteel, Kosovo, the Pentagon said Friday.

A screengrab of the video that shows a U.S. servicemember firing a shotgun at a truck in Afghanistan. An investigation found that the driver ignored warnings and the servicemember fired a beanbag, in accordance with military rules.<br>YouTube screengrab

Probe: ‘No criminality’ in incident of soldier shooting into Afghan truck caught on video

An American servicemember seen in an online video shooting into a moving truck in Afghanistan acted in accordance with military rules, an investigation has found.

Sgt. Steven Garcia holds the baby, who is at the center of an unusual custody battle.<br>GoFundMe

A soldier wants custody of the baby his wife told him died at birth. She tried to give the newborn away, police say.

Sgt. Steven Garcia, who is stationed in South Korea, was told that his wife, Marina Garcia, had given birth to a daughter in Arizona who died during childbirth. But police say she tried to give the newborn away. Though he’s not the baby’s biological father, he plans to fight for custody.

Heavy fighting was ongoing in western Farah province near the Iranian border Tuesday morning.<br>Bev Schilling/Stars and Stripes

Afghan forces, US airpower repel Taliban attack on provincial capital

The Taliban retreated from the capital of western Farah province Tuesday after launching a pre-dawn assault on the city that killed and wounded several Afghan troops, with U.S. airpower supporting government forces.

A video released by the Taliban appears to show a destroyed Afghan helicopter in Helmand province on Sunday, May 13, 2018. The Taliban claimed to have shot the aircraft down, but Afghan officials said it made an emergency landing due to technical difficulties and was destroyed by government troops. <br>Screengrab from Taliban video

10 dead in attack on Afghan government building in Jalalabad

Taliban claims to have downed Afghan military helicopter in other incident, but government says its forces destroyed it after mechanical failure.

Afghan security personnel inspect the area of a suicide attack in the center of Kabul, Afghanistan, Wednesday, May 9, 2018. Three suicide bombers struck two police stations in Afghanistan's capital on Wednesday, wounding at least six people, officials said<br>Rahmat Gul/AP

At least 6 wounded as blasts targeting 2 police stations rock Afghan capital

At least two police officers were killed and more than six people were wounded in a series of blasts that rocked the capital Wednesday afternoon, including multiple bombings in a neighborhood near the international zone where the U.S. Embassy and NATO mission are located.

A screen grab of the U.S. Department of Defense Cyber Awareness Challenge computer-based training module. It is one of three couses airmen will still have to complete online.<br>Courtesy Department of Defense

Air Force slashes computer-based training requirements

The Air Force is eliminating mandatory computer-based training on all but three courses and giving commanders wide discretion in how they conduct most ancillary training, the service’s top leaders said in a new memo.

An Afghan man is treated at a hospital following an airstrike in Dashti Archi district of Kunduz province northern Afghanistan on May 2, 2018. <br>AP

UN says Afghan air raid in April killed 30 children

Afghan defense officials initially said the attack targeted about 30 Taliban leaders who were taking part in a military parade. They said the strike was on a Taliban training camp, with foreign fighters from across the border in Tajikistan and Uzbekistan among the dead.

The blast symbol shows where Kabul police foiled a suicide bombing attack on civilians who had set up a blood collection drive in a park about one mile from the U.S. Embassy and NATO mission headquarters.

<br>Bev Schilling/Stars and Stripes

Failed suicide bombing targets Kabul blood drive

Kabul police foiled an attempted attack on civilians gathered for a blood collection drive in a park about a mile from the U.S. Embassy and NATO headquarters, officials said Monday.

Bystanders rush to rescue people trapped in wreckage as flames break out after a big rig gravel hauler and cars collided on southbound Interstate 405 near the Mulholland Bridge on the west side of Los Angeles, Monday, April 30, 2018. <br>KABC-TV via AP

ROTC instructors help rescue motorist pinned in flaming wreck on freeway

“We talk about our deployments to Afghanistan and Iraq, but never in a million years would you ever expect to be called upon to do something in Los Angeles,” said Lt. Col. Shannon Stambersky, the head of UCLA’s Army ROTC program.

Telephone number of the Veteran's Crisis Line is shown on this tag. The intervention of a rookie Office of Special Investigations officer on Reddit last week may have saved an airman's life.

<br>Photo illustration by Zachary Hada/U.S. Air Force

Airman intervenes after Reddit post, saves life of suicidal Air Force member

An Office of Special Investigations rookie on Reddit noticed a subtle cry for help among Reddit posts. Then he and another airman made 25 calls to get in touch with the supervisor of the airman who made the posting.

Maj. Gen. Walter Piatt, right, commander of Combined Joint Forces Land Component Command, and his senior enlisted advisor, Command Sgt. Maj. Samuel Roark,roll up the CJFLCC flag during a deactivation ceremony in Baghdad, Iraq, April 30, 2018.<br>Horace Murray/U.S. Army

Land component command deactivates as counter-ISIS fight in Iraq shifts

The combined joint forces command responsible for land operations in Iraq deactivated Monday in Baghdad, signaling the end of major combat operations against the Islamic State in that country.

This Marine Corps recruiting poster appeared shortly after the World War I Battle of Belleau Wood, which purportedly gave birth to the term "Devil Dogs."<br>

National Devil Dog Day celebrates cake, not Corps

Every dog will have its day, and Friday belongs to the Devil Dog.

A Navy Seabee with the Naval Support Unit - State Department cuts a container at the U.S. Embassy in Kabul on Monday, April 10, 2017.<br>Courtesy of U.S. Department of State

From bugs to bombs, little-known Seabee unit protects US embassies from threats

As embassies became more fortress-like, the Seabees’ focus expanded from interior walls out to compound perimeters, and from watching construction projects for bug-planting to maintaining systems that monitor for signs of potential violence.

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ISIS fighters display less-than-stellar leapfrogging, martial arts skills in seized videos

Islamic State propaganda videos seized by the U.S. appear to show masked militants training inside a mosque in northwestern Afghanistan, doing pushups, playing leapfrog and bunny hopping.

A screen grab of the U.S. Department of Defense Combating Trafficking in Persons computer-based training module. The course is one of three mandates being eliminated at Army headquarters level in a bid to streamline training requirements, though combatant commanders may opt to require them.<br>Courtesy Department of Defense

Army leaders cut some mandatory training and other 'burdensome' requirements

The changes were greeted cautiously by soldiers and veterans on the online forum Reddit, where some users identifying themselves as soldiers mentioned forging training certificates in the past.

Soldiers talk with students at Arlington High School, Washington, in 2015. The Army recently issued a policy stressing the need to protect personally identifiable information when recruiting.<br>Courtesy of US Army

Army recruiter’s group text that revealed phone numbers leads to mass confusion, warning

The Army has warned recruiters about using texts or social media to contact potential recruits after a mass text sent to high school parents near Indianapolis disclosed hundreds of personal cell phone numbers.

The U.S. Marine Corps' amphibious vehicle replacement, the Amphibious Combat Vehicle 1.1, is under budget and on schedule for a June low-rate production run.<br>Courtesy BAE Systems

New Marine amphibious vehicle on schedule and under budget

Development costs for the Amphibious Combat Vehicle are now an estimated $60 million below original projections of $810.5 million, a Government Accountability Office report found, though it warned of continued potential for cost overruns or delays.

Petty Officer 3rd Class Corey Jernigan, a U.S. Navy hospital corpsman, looks on as U.S. Marines prepare take samples during a chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear training exercise, May 10, 2017, during Exercise Eager Lion at the Joint Training Center in Jordan.<br> Zoe Morris/U.S. Army

Chemical weapons incident planned as part of US-Jordan exercise, days after Syria strike

U.S. officials said the eighth annual iteration of the exercise is not directly related to U.S., British and French missile strikes, which targeted Syria in response to a suspected chemical attack on the Syrian city of Douma that killed dozens on April 7.

Afghan women are pictured here on Sunday, Dec. 24, 2017, donning the head-to-toe burqa as they walk along a highway in Parwan province, where power lines have been built under U.S.-funded contracts aimed at bringing economic development for rural areas and cheaper electricity to support outlying military posts.

<br>Chad Garland/Stars and Stripes

Report: Army Corps of Engineers mismanaged $60 million Afghan power project

A $60 million power project overseen by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in Afghanistan couldn’t be powered up for fear it would put Afghan lives at risk, and shoddy work could leave the system structurally unstable, a government watchdog found.

Master Sgt. Jonathan J. Dunbar, 36, of Austin, Texas<br>

Pentagon identifies American soldier killed in Syria explosion

U.S. Army Master Sgt. Jonathan J. Dunbar of Austin, Texas and U.K. Sgt. Matt Tonroe died Friday after an improvised explosive device detonated near a patrol in Manbij, Syria.

A screen grab of the U.S. Department of Defense Cyber Awareness Challenge computer-based training module. It is one of the 23 mandatory computer-based modules a group of Army chief warrant officers had to do before deploying to Afghanistan to train Afghan helicopter pilots.<br>Courtesy Department of Defense

'Just painful': Pentagon mulls an overhaul of mandatory training policies

Military leaders have said they’re overwhelmed by unnecessary training requirements, but seasoned officers in Afghanistan said they see signs of a turnaround as the Pentagon looks to streamline military policies.

Afghan Special Operations soldiers destroy a Taliban weapons cache during a night operation in Ney Meydan, Sar-e Pul province, Afghanistan, Feb. 23, 2018. Afghan Special Security Forces maintained constant pressure on the Taliban and IS-K throughout the winter in the northern Afghan provinces.<br>Sean Carnes/U.S. Air Force

US, Afghan special operations target ISIS foreign fighters in northwest Afghanistan

About one in 10 Islamic State fighters in Afghanistan are foreign fighters, the top U.S. general in the country said Thursday, in a statement touting recent U.S. and Afghan operations targeting the group.

Soldiers from the 47th Combat Support Hospital in Baghdad check a patient for wounds on Nov. 24, 2017. They include, from left to right, Pfc. Michael Torres, Capt. Daniel Braun, Sgt. Jennifer Abbey, Dr. (Capt.) Cecily Vanderspurt and Spc. Brianna Camarena.<br>Courtesy photo/U.S. Army

Military doctors busy treating Iraqi forces as ISIS continues fight

A U.S.-led medical task force in Iraq has treated hundreds of patients over the past five months, including about 300 wounded Iraqi security personnel, as coalition forces have shifted from offensive operations to holding ground retaken from the Islamic State.

William R. Posch (left), a pararescue craftsman with Air Force Reserve Command's 308th Rescue Squadron at Patrick AFB, Fla.<br>Air Force photo

7 US troops killed in Iraq helicopter crash identified

The U.S. military has said the incident is under investigation and identified the seven servicemembers on Saturday evening.

U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Phillip Flanagan, from Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, right, disinfects U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Kameron Ussery's arm during a blood drive at Ramstein Air Base, Germany, on Wednesday, Feb. 21, 2018.<br>Michael B. Keller/Stars and Stripes

‘Better than any care package’: unique program delivers blood to military hospitals

A one-of-its-kind military program lets servicemembers far from the battlefields help their wounded comrades by forward-deploying their own blood.

Sgt. 1st Class Maitland Deweever Wilson<br>

Soldier who died at Landstuhl is identified

Sgt. 1st Class Maitland Deweever Wilson, a cargo specialist, had been supporting Operation Inherent Resolve, the U.S.-led coalition battling the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria.

Afghan commandos assigned to 1st Special Operations Kandak clear a training compound during breaching training in Laghman province, Afghanistan, Feb. 13, 2018. <br>Connor Mendez/U.S. Army

Numbers on US counterterrorism efforts in Afghanistan don't add up

Data the Pentagon issued last year to spotlight the success of operations against militant groups in Afghanistan were inaccurate, raising questions about the real progress of the secretive counterterrorism campaign being conducted by the U.S. and Afghan military.

Lt. Gen. Timothy J. Kadavy, director of the Army National Guard, presents Kwabena O. Mensah, father of Pfc. Emmanuel Mensah, with the Soldier's Medal, the Army's top award for valor outside of combat during a ceremony Feb. 16, 2018, at Fordham University in the Bronx, N.Y.<br>Harley Jelis/U.S. Army National Guard

New York soldier killed in fire rescue honored with 2 valor awards

Pfc. Emmanuel Mensah is credited with saving four lives in the massive apartment fire in the Bronx on Dec. 28, the city’s deadliest in a quarter of century. He entered the burning building at least four times before being overcome by smoke.

Sgt. Christina Marie Schoenecker, 26, shown here at basic training, died in a noncombat incident Monday, Feb. 19, 2018, in Iraq while supporting Operation Inherent Resolve<br>U.S. Army

Army identifies soldier killed in noncombat incident in Baghdad

Sgt. Christina Marie Schoenecker, 26, of Arlington, Kan., died in a noncombat incident Monday in Iraq while supporting Operation Inherent Resolve, the U.S.-led anti-Islamic State campaign.

During the combat with the Islamic State, Iran-backed militias got their hands on M1A1 Abrams main battle tanks the United States originally provided to the Iraqi army, a Pentagon watchdog has found.<br>U.S. Department of Defense

Iran-backed militias obtained 9 US-made Abrams tanks in Iraq, report says

During the chaotic battle with the Islamic State, Iran-backed militias got their hands on M1A1 Abrams tanks the United States originally provided to the Iraqi army, a Pentagon watchdog has found.

Pictured here on Monday, Jan. 29, 2018, is the Craig Joint Theater Hospital ambulance bay, known as "Warrior's Way," where wounded U.S., coalition and Afghan forces pass under the flag to enter the hospital's trauma ward after being medically evacuated from the battlefield.<br>Chad Garland/Stars and Stripes

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Bagram hospital braces for more casualties as US intensifies Afghan War

The Craig Joint Theater Hospital here has had what officials believe to be a record success rate at keeping casualties alive — many of them Afghans wounded in operations with U.S. forces — which officials said helps boost battlefield confidence.

Capt. Dean Sprouting <br>UK Ministry of Defense

Servicemember killed in Iraq identified as Scottish soldier

A servicemember who died in an apparent noncombat incident Wednesday while supporting the anti-Islamic State coalition has been identified as a Scottish soldier.

Anti-ISIS coalition servicemember dies in apparent noncombat incident

A servicemember supporting the coalition fighting the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria died Wednesday in what the military said appears to be a noncombat incident.

A group of Afghans huddle near a fire at a marketplace in Kabul province, Afghanistan, during a snow flurry on Monday, Jan. 29, 2018. The country has received little precipitation this winter, normally its wet season, which has concerned Afghans dependent on rain and snow for a bountiful crop.<br>Chad Garland/Stars and Stripes

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Snow brings respite to besieged Kabul

Snow dusted Kabul and other areas white Monday morning for the first time since mid-December, providing a small bright spot as the capital tries to recover from a series of terrorist bombings.

The Marshal Fahim National Defense University in Kabul is shown here in 2015. The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for a Monday attack there.<br>Mike A. Glasch/U.S. Army photo

ISIS kills at least 11 Afghan soldiers in latest Kabul attack

The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the pre-dawn assault, the third attack in the capital city in a little more than a week.

Traffic police were out in force in Kabul on Sunday, Jan. 28, 2018, the day after one of the deadliest bombings in the country since 2001. The suicide bombing, which used an ambulance laden with explosives in an area teeming with people, killed more than 100 and injured more than 200 near the old Interior Ministry building.<br>Chad Garland/Stars and Stripes

Casualty figures rise in Kabul, along with tensions, in suicide bombing’s wake

The city has become one of the deadliest in the country for civilians, though in the past it has been a refuge for Afghans fleeing conflict elsewhere.

An MQ-9 Reaper unmanned aerial vehicle is pictured here on the ramp at Kandahar Air Field, Afghanistan, on Tuesday, Jan. 23, 2018. In January, there were more Reapers deployed to the Kandahar airbase than had ever been operationally based at one airfield in Air Force history.<br>Chad Garland/Stars and Stripes

Surveillance surge puts more Reapers at Afghan airfield than any other

The drones arrived recently to augment efforts to target the Taliban, which controls or contests more territory now than since its regime was toppled in the 2001 U.S.-led invasion.

Uniformed and plainclothed Afghan security forces patrol the site of a deadly suicide attack in Jalalabad, east of Kabul, Afghanistan, Wednesday, Jan. 24, 2018.<br>AP

Attack on Save the Children charity in Jalalabad kills 5, injures more than 2 dozen

Islamic State claimed responsibility for an attack Wednesday on the international charity Save the Children, which left at least five victims dead and more than two dozen wounded after a gunbattle that lasted nearly 10 hours.

Maj. Gen. James Hecker speaks in front of an A-10 Thunderbolt II at Kandahar Air Field, Afghanistan, Tuesday, Jan. 23, 2018.

<br>Chad Garland/Stars and Stripes

A-10s join effort to target Taliban drug factories in Afghanistan

The $19 million aircraft, beloved by ground troops and so far spared from Air Force efforts to ground them for budgetary reasons, will also support counterterrorism efforts.

Smoke billows out of the top floor of the Intercontinental Hotel in Kabul, Afghanistan, on Sunday, Jan. 21, 2018. Taliban gunmen stormed the hotel Saturday night, leading to a standoff with Afghan security forces that lasted into the afternoon Sunday, with gunfire and blasts echoing down from the hilltop luxury hotel to where crowds had gathered to watch the siege play out.

Chad Garland/Stars and Stripes
<br>Chad Garland/Stars and Stripes

Standoff in Kabul hotel ends with Taliban attackers killed

Afghanistan's Interior Ministry said at least four Afghans and 14 foreigners were killed in an attack at a popular luxury hotel in Kabul that ended Sunday, after about 16 hours.

U.S. servicemembers and other guests attend a ceremony at the Intercontinental Hotel in Kabul, Afghanistan, on Feb. 26, 2012. Gunmen stormed the hotel Saturday, Jan. 20, 2018, in a startling attack on the beleaguered city’s west side. <br>U.S. Army

Attackers storm hotel in Kabul

At least two gunmen who stormed Kabul’s Intercontinental Hotel on Saturday are dead, officials said in the hours after the attack began on the city’s west side. At least one American was trapped in the besieged hotel, which was also on fire.

Pictured here in an undated photo is a $650 gold medal for bravery that a community in Logar province, Afghanistan, presented to the U.S. Embassy in Kabul on behalf of President Donald Trump on Saturday, Jan. 13, 2018.<br>Said Farhad Akbari/Courtesty photo

Afghan province awards Trump bravery medal after tough talk on Pakistan

Hundreds of Afghans in Logar province pitched in to recognize President Donald Trump with a gold medal for bravery after his administration suspended aid to Pakistan.

Pictured here from left to right during a transfer of authority ceremony at Camp Shorab in Helmand province, Afghanistan, on Monday, Jan. 15, 2018, is Gen. John W. Nicholson, commander of U.S. Forces - Afghanistan, Brig. Gen. Benjamin T. Watson, Task Force Southwest rotation two commander, and Command Sgt. Maj. David M. Clark, U.S. Forces - Afghanistan senior enlisted advisor.<br>Chad Garland/Stars and Stripes

Marines train Afghan forces to take aggressive stance in deadly Helmand province

The Marine task force was the main force behind NATO’s Resolute Support mission, an effort to build up Afghan security forces in restive Helmand province, last year, and will continue to be so in 2018.

Afghan prisoners line up after their release from Pul-e-Charkhi prison, in Kabul, Afghanistan, Thursday, Jan. 11, 2018. The Afghan president pardoned 75 prisoners loyal to Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, a former warlord and U.S.-declared terrorist who signed a peace agreement with Kabul in 2016. The deal gave Hekmatyar and his followers immunity for past actions and granted them full political rights. <br>Rahmat Gul/Associated Press

Four-party talks with Taliban in Turkey could ‘pave the way’ to Afghanistan peace deal

It’s not the first time the parties have tried to broker a peace settlement, but previous attempts have not been fruitful.

Afghan National Army commandos, assisted by members of Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force Afghanistan, conduct a security patrol through the Achin district of Afghanistan’s Nangarhar province, April 30, 2009. An American servicemember and his Afghan interpreter were wounded Thursday, Jan. 12, 2018, after being lured into a meeting in Achin district with an insurgent group posing as a local militia.<br>Russell Lee Klika/U.S. Army

American wounded after being lured into an ambush in Afghanistan

An American servicemember and his Afghan interpreter were wounded Thursday in eastern Afghanistan after being lured into a meeting with an insurgent group posing as local militia, a U.S. military official said.

Command Sgt. Maj John Wayne Troxell, right, the senior enlisted advisor to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, visited Fort Jackson, S.C., in April 2017.<br>Demetria Mosley/U.S. Army

Pentagon's top enlisted is avid about hand-to-hand combat, including fighting ISIS with shovels

Army Command Sgt. Maj. John Wayne Troxell issued the warnings to the Islamic State on Facebook and Twitter this week, telling them they have two options — surrender or die.

A 9-inch ''super supreme'' pizza and a Coca-Cola at the Pizza Hut on Bagram Air Field in Afghanistan.

<br>Chad Garland/Stars and Stripes

At the Pizza Hut at Bagram Air Field, you're the boss

When “weather” left me stranded on Bagram for a few days, I figured I’d see how servicemembers eat when they’re not being served by contractors in hair nets and white paper hats.

An American flag blows in the breeze. <br>Jenifer Calhoun/U.S. Air Force

US soldier who died in Iraq leaves behind 'love of his life,' 3-year-old daughter

Spc. Javion Shavonte of Fort Mill, S.C., died Monday in Al Anbar province in a noncombat incident, the Pentagon said.

Servicemember dies in noncombat incident in southwest Asia

A servicemember died Monday in a noncombat incident in southwest Asia, according to the U.S.-led coalition fighting Islamic State. Neither the servicemember nor the specific location of the death were identified.

These U.S. servicemembers died in Nangarhar province last year. Top row: Staff Sgt. Mark R. De Alencar, Sgt. Joshua P. Rodgers, Sgt. Cameron H. Thomas, Sgt. Eric M. Houck. Bottom row: Sgt. William M. Bays, Cpl. Dillon C. Baldridge, Staff Sgt. Aaron R. Butler, Sgt. 1st Class Mihail Golin.

<br>U.S. Army photos

Nangarhar is the deadliest Afghan province for US forces in the past year

There’s no more dangerous spot for U.S. troops than Afghanistan's Nangarhar province, where seven Americans were killed in combat last year, more than in any other single place Americans were deployed in support of overseas operations.

U.S. Army soldiers with Alpha Company, 2-501st Parachute Infantry Regiment, fire an 81 mm mortar in support of the Afghan National Army during operation Maiwand 10 in Helmand province, Afghanistan, Dec. 26, 2017.<br>Justin T. Updegraff/U.S. Marine Corps

Combat operations boost Afghan tactical cooperation

A series of intense combat operations in Helmand province have given the Afghan army and air force a chance to improve their joint tactics, especially in coordinating close air support to ground troops.

Sgt. Vanessa Turner chats with her 4-year-old son via a smartphone video calling app at a coalition base at the international airport in Irbil, Iraq, on Sunday, Dec. 25, 2016.<br>Chad Garland/Stars and Stripes

Bagram Wi-Fi overhaul will give airmen better ‘FaceTime’ with family

The Air Force hopes to boost morale and performance here by improving Wi-Fi access to make it easier for servicemembers to stay in touch with stateside family.

Sgt.1st Class Mihail Golin was killed in a New Year's Day firefight in eastern Afghanistan.<br>U.S. Army

Army identifies Green Beret killed in Afghanistan on New Year’s Day

Mihail Golin, 34, of Fort Lee, N.J., was a Special Forces weapons sergeant assigned to Fort Carson, Colo.-based B Company, 2nd Battalion, 10th Special Forces Group. He was killed in a New Year’s Day firefight in eastern Afghanistan.

Supporters of Pakistani religious groups burn a representation of an American flag at a rally to condemn a tweet by U.S. President Donald Trump, in Karachi, Pakistan, Tuesday, Jan. 2, 2018. <br>Fareed Khan/AP

Afghans praise Trump’s hard line on Pakistan

Afghans welcomed President Donald Trump’s accusation on Twitter that Pakistan offers only “lies & deceit” in return for U.S. aid, saying that the statement builds on what some see as positive momentum in America’s 16-year struggle to defeat the Taliban.

In a 2011 file photo, the mountains of Tora Bora loom over a lone U.S. mine resistant ambush protected vehicle as it patrols outside the Achin District Center.<br>U.S. Army

US servicemember killed in fighting in eastern Afghanistan

The slain servicemember, the first U.S. combat fatality this year, was not identified. The Pentagon does not release the names of deceased servicemembers until next of kin have been notified.