Pat Dollard

Afghan National Army Lt. Col. Gul Ahmad (third from left), the kandak commander of 1st Kandak, 1st Brigade, 215th Corps; and Mercer Island, Wash., native Lt. Col. Tyler Zagurski (center), the commanding officer of 1st Battalion, 9th Marine Regiment; patrol through the district during the Nawa Victory Walk. The two commanding officers wanted to show local residents the roads and markets were safe and security was strong in the area.

Marines with 1st Battalion, 9th Marine Regiment, play a game of volleyball after a 14-kilometer patrol alongside Afghan National Army soldiers with 1st Kandak, 1st Brigade, 215th Corps. Once inside the walls of the Loy Kolay precinct, an ANA security outpost, the Marines stripped their body armor and began playing as the sun set.

Afghan National Army soldiers with 1st Kandak, 1st Brigade, 215th Corps, and Marines with 1st Battalion, 9th Marine Regiment, enter Loy Kolay precinct, an ANA security outpost. The precinct was a welcome sight to the security forces after a 14-kilometer patrol on the first of a four-day patrol through the district.

Haji Hayatullah (dressed in white and gray), an Afghan Local Police commander leads ALP patrolmen toward gunfire in the desert surrounding Nawa. During a patrol through the district, Afghan National Army soldiers and Marines with 1st Battalion, 9th Marine Regiment, heard an improvised explosive device detonate followed by machine-gun fire. The group detoured from their route into the desert to determine the cause and lend aid if necessary.

(From left) Local elder Haji Janan; Mercer Island, Wash., native Lt. Col. Tyler Zagurski the commanding officer of 1st Battalion, 9th Marine Regiment; and Afghan National Army Lt. Col. Gul Ahmad, the kandak commander of 1st Kandak, 1st Brigade, 215th Corps; pose for a photo outside Janan’s home. During their visit, the officers spoke with Janan about local agriculture, security, and the great progress Nawa has made.

(From left) Mercer Island, Wash., native Lt. Col. Tyler Zagurski, the battalion commander of 1st Battalion, 9th Marine Regiment; Pittston, Pa., native Sgt. Maj. Patrick Tracy, battalion sergeant major of 1/9; and Columbus, Ohio, native Capt. Gabe Diana, operations officer of 1/9, sit around a fire at an Afghan National Army security outpost called Loy Kolay precinct. Zagurski, accompanied by members of his unit, patrolled with Afghan National Security Forces through the district to promote a positive Afghan security presence.