Pics from 8 - 15 Sep. 2009 -  RIP to all brave soldiers who fell during that time.

 

 

BAGRAM, AFGHANISTAN - U.S. soldiers salute a ceremony marking the eighth anniversary of September 1, 2001, at the main U.S. base, September 11, 2009 in Bagram, Afghanistan. The soldiers marked the attacks that killed more than 2,700 people with the destruction of the World Trade Center, the crash at the Pentagon and United 93 in Shanksville, Pennsylvania on September 11, 2001.

 

 

 A U.S. soldier reacts during a ceremony to mark the anniversary of Sept. 11 2001, at the main U.S. base, in Bagram, north of Kabul, Afghanistan, Friday, Sept. 11, 2009. (AP / Musadeq Sadeq)

 

 

 

 Paratroopers of the U.S. Army's 3rd Battalion, 509th Infantry Regiment (Airborne), based at Fort Richardson, Alaska, receive their Combat Infantry Badges at the award ceremony in Zerok in East Paktika province in Afghanistan, Saturday, Sept. 12, 2009. (AP / Dima Gavrysh)

 

 

 Members of the 3rd Platoon, Able Company, 3-509th Infantry Regiment (Airborne), 4th BDE -25th Infantry Division from Fort Richardson, Alaska, patrol area around COP Zerok damaged during the Taliban assault on July 4th in Zerok District, East Paktika province in Afghanistan, Friday, Sept. 11, 2009. (AP / Dima Gavrysh)

 

 Soldiers from the U.S. Army's 3rd Battalion, 509th Infantry Regiment (Airborne) based at Fort Richardson, Alaska, come back to the base after night patrol in Zerok District, East Paktika province in Afghanistan, Friday, Sept. 11, 2009. (AP / Dima Gavrysh)

 

 

 Specialist Meredith Smith, from Virginia, assigned to 3-509th Infantry Regiment (Airborne) 4th BDE -25th Infantry Division from Fort Richardson, Alaska, tries to get some sleep inside the armored vehicle during a convoy operation in Zerok District, East Paktika province in Afghanistan, Friday, Sept. 11, 2009. (AP / Dima Gavrysh)

 

 Two officers of the Afghan border police flee under intense gunfire after insurgents ambushed Afghan security forces and U.S. military trainers on September 8, 2009 as they approached the village of Ganjgal, Afghanistan. Three U.S. Marines and a Navy corpsman and nine Afghans were killed in the battle. (Jonathan S. Landay / MCT)

 

 

 U.S. Marine 1st Sgt. Christopher Garza, of Houston, Texas (foreground), watches for encircling insurgents and U.S. Army Capt. William Swenson, of Seattle, Washington, calls for air support on his radio as they take cover after Afghan security forces and their U.S. military trainers were ambushed on September 8, 2009. Swenson's Afghan interpreter looks on. The force was going to the village of Ganjgal in eastern Kunar province, Afghanistan to search for weapons and hold talks with the elders who had agreed to accept the authority of the local government. Four U.S. service members and nine Afghans were killed. (Jonathan S. Landay / MCT)

 

 

 U.S. Army Capt. William Swenson, of Seattle, Washington, calls for air support on his radio as they take cover after Afghan security forces and their U.S. military trainers were ambushed on September 8, 2009. The force was going to the village of Ganjgal in eastern Kunar province, Afghanistan to search for weapons and hold talks with the elders who had agreed to accept the authority of the local government. Four U.S. service members and nine Afghans were killed.(Jonathan S. Landay/MCT)

 

 

 Two Afghan border police take cover behind a wall from a storm of gunfire during a September 8, 2009 ambush of Afghan security forces and U.S. military trainers in the village of Ganjgal, Afghanistan. The Afghan security forces and the U.S. trainers walked into a trap as they moved to search the village for weapons and meet with the elders who had agreed to submit to the local government's authority. (Jonathan S. Landay/MCT)

 

 

 U.S. Army Sgt. Kenneth W. Westbrook, of Colorado Springs, Colorado, fires at insurgents who trapped Afghan security forces and U.S. military trainers in an massive ambush on September 8, 2009 in eastern Kunar province, Afghanistan. Westbook, who was training Afghan border police, was badly wounded in the neck shortly after this photograph was taken and had to be helicoptered out of the battle zone. (Jonathan S. Landay/MCT)

 

 

 

German ISAF soldiers on patrol outside Feyzabad, east of Kunduz, Afghanistan, Saturday, Sept. 12, 2009.

 

 

Afghan men look on as German ISAF soldiers patrol outside Feyzabad, east of Kunduz, Afghanistan, Saturday, Sept. 12, 2009.

 

 German ISAF soldiers gather after returning back to their base in Feyzabad, east of Kunduz, Afghanistan, Saturday, Sept. 12, 2009.

 

 German ISAF soldiers prepare Panzerfaust ammunition before a patrol in the area of Feyzabad, east of Kunduz, Afghanistan, Sunday, Sept. 13, 2009.

 

 A German ISAF soldier prepares ammunition before a patrol in the area of Feyzabad, east of Kunduz, Afghanistan, Sunday, Sept. 13, 2009.

 

 

 German ISAF soldiers look out of their jeep during a patrol in a convoy in the area of Feyzabad, east of Kunduz, Afghanistan, Sunday, Sept. 13, 2009.

 

Killed in action was Private Patrick Lormand from the 2nd Battalion, Royal 22e Régiment based in Valcartier, Quebec. Private Lormand was serving as a member of the 2nd Battalion, Royal 22e Régiment Battle Group, Quebec. September 14, 2009

 

 

 Her Excellency the Right Honourable Michaëlle Jean, Governor General and Commander-in-Chief of Canada, visited Afghanistan to show her support for and solidarity with Canadian soldiers and the people of Afghanistan. The visit took place on September 8 and 9, 2009. Upon her arrival at the Kandahar military base, she paid her respects to fallen Canadian soldiers in Afghanistan before laying a flower on the cenotaph. Photo credit: Sgt Serge Gouin, Rideau Hall

 

 

 

 Patrice Brisebois, player National Hockey League (NHL), a member of Team Canada, scored a goal against MCpl Girard of the White team during the hockey game with members of the Roto 01-09 of Operation ATHENA, which took place on the Kandahar base during the visit of Team Canada. Melanie Turgeon, world champion in downhill alpine skiing in 2003, watched helplessly the goal against her team.

 Guitarist James Black and singer Scott Anderson of Finger Eleven, performs on the boardwalk on the Kandahar base during the visit of Team Canada. Photo: Sgt Ronald Duchesne, Imaging Division, Valcartier Garrison

 

 

 

 Tribute to Sergeant Thomas Rousselle and Corporal Johan Naguine(google translation) 

 

 Distribution of agricultural seeds

 

 

 

 

 the sappers performs earthwork

 

 

 A Canadian army medic covers the faces of two sick children as a helicopter lands to airlift eight children brought to a forward operating base after they fell gravely ill from eating explosive powder at a home in the Panjwai district of Kandahar province September 12, 2009. Roadside bombs made from homemade explosives are the leading killer of foreign troops in Afghanistan. Violence in Afghanistan has reached its most intense of the eight-year-old war despite record levels of U.S. and NATO troops being sent to fight the Taliban. Reuters

 

 

 A Canadian army medic examines one of eight children brought to a forward operating base after they fell gravely ill from eating explosive powder at a home in the Panjwai district of Kandahar province September 12, 2009. Roadside bombs made from homemade explosives are the leading killers of foreign troops in Afghanistan. Violence in Afghanistan has reached its most intense of the eight-year-old war despite record levels of U.S. and NATO troops being sent to fight the Taliban. Reuters

 

 

 

 Sgt. Nathaniel Harris, squad leader, Company E, 2nd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment and Yadkinville, N.C., native, briefs his squad on a patrol to investigate the area after four insurgents were seen placing an improvised explosive device Sept. 9, 2009. Mortarmen with Weapons Co., fired a series of 81 mm mortars at the insurgents.

Sgt. Matthew Skapriwsky, a military policeman with the 410th Military Police Company, uses his Advance Combat Optical Gunsight to observe an approaching vehicle coming down a mountain side during a security mission, Sept. 9. The 410th MP Co. mission was to provide security for Task Force Cyclone during a key leader engagement at the Nijrab radio station in Kapisa province, Afghanistan.

 An Afghan boy looks on as German ISAF soldiers prepare a temporary camp to overnight during a long term patrol in the mountainous region of Feyzabad, east of Kunduz, Afghanistan, Monday, Sept. 14, 2009. (AP / Anja Niedringhaus)

 

 

 A German ISAF soldier shows Afghan children pictures on his camera during a long term patrol with his unit in the mountainous region of Feyzabad, east of Kunduz, Afghanistan, Monday, Sept. 14, 2009. (AP / Anja Niedringhaus)

 

 

An Afghan boy looks on as German ISAF soldiers arrive to prepare a temporary overnight camp during a long term patrol in the mountainous region of Feyzabad, east of Kunduz, Afghanistan, Monday, Sept. 14, 2009. (AP / Anja Niedringhaus)

 

 Afghan children look on as German ISAF soldiers and Afghan police officers prepare a temporary overnight camp during a long term patrol in the mountainous region of Feyzabad, east of Kunduz, Afghanistan, Monday, Sept. 14, 2009. (AP / Anja Niedringhaus)

 

 A German ISAF soldier shows his dog tag, his soldiers' identification tag, with his lucky charms attached during a long term patrol with his unit in the mountainous region of Feyzabad, east of Kunduz, Afghanistan, Monday, Sept. 14, 2009. His godfather gave him the angel before leaving for Afghanistan. (AP / Anja Niedringhaus)

 

Troops from 45 Commando Royal Marines conduct Operation GHARTSE PALANG in the Upper Sangin Valley of Helmand province

 

 Lima Company, 42 Commando Royal Marines Group during Operation SOND CHARA (Red Dagger) in Helmand province

In this photo from Wednesday, Sept 9, 2009 photo, a Belgian solider with the NATO- led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) is seen during a routine event on the out skirts of Kunduz, north of Kabul, Afghanistan.

 

 German ISAF soldiers, members of the Quick Reaction Force (QRF), get briefed prior to a mission outside Kunduz, Afghanistan, Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2009. German Chancellor Angela Merkel said the world should reserve judgment on whether civilians were killed in a German-ordered airstrike in Afghanistan, even as NATO said it believed that civilians had died in the attack.

 

 

 German ISAF soldiers, members of the Quick Reaction Force (QRF), get briefed prior to a mission outside Kunduz, Afghanistan, Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2009.

 

 

 A German ISAF soldier, a member of the Quick Reaction Force (QRF), waits in his armored personnel carrier to go on a mission outside Kunduz, Afghanistan, Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2009.

 

 A German ISAF soldier, a member of the Quick Reaction Force (QRF), checks his machine-gun prior to a mission outside Kunduz, Afghanistan, Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2009.

 

 In this Wednesday, Sept 9, 2009 photo, soldiers with the NATO- led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) are seen during a routine event on the outskirts of Kunduz, north of Kabul, Afghanistan.

 

 

 German ISAF soldiers, members of the Quick Reaction Force (QRF), unload their weapons after coming back from a mission outside Kunduz, Afghanistan, Thursday, Sept. 10, 2009.

 

 A German International Security Assistance Force, ISAF, soldier, member of the Quick Reaction Force (QRF) returns back from a mission outside Kunduz, Afghanistan, Thursday, Sept. 10, 2009

 

 

 A German ISAF soldier, member of the Quick Reaction Force (QRF), returns with his unit back from a mission outside Kunduz, Afghanistan, Thursday, Sept. 10, 2009.

 

 German ISAF soldiers, members of the Quick Reaction Force (QRF) embrace each other after coming back from a mission outside Kunduz, Afghanistan, Thursday, Sept. 10, 2009.

 

 German ISAF soldier lights up his lucky cigar as he arrives with his unit back to the base in Feyzabad, east of Kunduz, Afghanistan, Friday, Sept. 11, 2009. The unit was stuck for days in the area of Kunduz and came under heavy fire in which four soldiers where injured and evacuated to the field hospital in Kunduz.

 

 

 A German ISAF soldier salutes as he arrives with his unit back to the base in Feyzabad, east of Kunduz, Afghanistan, Friday, Sept. 11, 2009.

 

 

 German ISAF soldiers arrive with their unit back to the base in Feyzabad, east of Kunduz, Afghanistan, Friday, Sept. 11, 2009. The unit was stuck for days in the area of Kunduz and came under heavy fire in which four soldiers where injured and evacuated to the field hospital in Kunduz.

 

 

 

 A German ISAF soldier looks on as others hug each other after arriving with their unit back to the base in Feyzabad, east of Kunduz, Afghanistan, Friday, Sept. 11, 2009. The unit was stuck for days in the area of Kunduz and came under heavy fire in which four soldiers where injured and evacuated to the field hospital in Kunduz.

 

 A German ISAF soldier reacts after arriving with his unit back to the base in Feyzabad, east of Kunduz, Afghanistan, Friday, Sept. 11, 2009. The unit was stuck for days in the area of Kunduz and came under heavy fire in which four soldiers where injured and evacuated to the field hospital in Kunduz.

 

 

 

 An Afghan army officer walks past destroyed Russian tanks and photographs of the country's national hero Ahmed Shah Massoud, near Massoud's mausoleum, on the eight anniversary of his death, in his hometown of Panjshir, 140 kilometers, (87 miles) north of Kabul, Afghanistan, Thursday, Sept. 10, 2009.

 

 Canadian Sgt.-Maj. Ivan Plante of Victoriaville, Quebec peers from behind an armoured vehicle after gunfire broke out at the scene of a roadside bomb explosion that wounded an Afghan National Army soldier in the Panjwai district of Kandahar province, September 14, 2009.

 

 Sgt.-Maj. Ivan Plante of Victoriaville, Quebec scans for insurgents after gunfire broke out at the scene of a roadside bomb explosion that wounded an Afghan National Army soldier in the Panjwai district of Kandahar province, September 14, 2009.

 

Canadian soldiers rush to the rooftop of an outpost moments after a nearby roadside bomb explosion wounded an Afghan National Army soldier in the Panjwai district of Kandahar province, September 14, 2009.

 

 

 Pakistani army troops fix their artillery on Taliban's stronghold of Piochar in Pakistani troubled Swat Valley on Monday, Sept. 14, 2009. In recent weeks, the army has reported an increasing flow of insurgents voluntarily surrendering, official said

 

 

 Members of a private militia comprises of local residents to nab Taliban militants, vow to wage war against militants in Taliban's stronghold of Piochar in Pakistani troubled Swat Valley on Monday, Sept. 14, 2009. In recent weeks, the army has reported an increasing flow of insurgents voluntarily surrendering, official said.

 

 Afghan women and a child walk past Italian ISAF soldiers standing guard during the stone lying ceremony of a primary school in Herat, Afghanistan, Monday, Sept. 14, 2009.

 

German ISAF soldiers, in background, are seen during a long term patrol with their unit in the mountainous region of Feyzabad, east of Kunduz, Afghanistan, Monday, Sept. 14, 2009.

 An Afghan man stops a patrol with German ISAF soldiers to get some water in Yaftal e Sofla, in the mountainous region of Feyzabad, east of Kunduz, Afghanistan, early morning Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2009.

 

 A Afghan police man secures the area as German ISAF soldiers prepare a temporary camp to overnight during a long term patrol with his unit in the mountainous region of Feyzabad, east of Kunduz, Afghanistan, Monday, Sept. 14, 2009.

 

 A German ISAF soldier rests after securing a temporary camp to overnight during a long term patrol with his unit in the mountainous region of Feyzabad, east of Kunduz, Afghanistan, Monday, Sept. 14, 2009.

 

A German ISAF soldier rests during a long term patrol with his unit in the mountainous region of Feyzabad, east of Kunduz, Afghanistan, Monday, Sept. 14, 2009.

 

 

 An Afghan man and a boy listen to music on earphones from an iPod given from German ISAF soldiers during a long term patrol in Yaftal e Sofla, in the moutainious region of Feyzabad, east of Kunduz, Afghanistan, early morning Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2009.

 

 Afghan girls queue to have their nails colored by a female U.S. soldier who joined German ISAF soldiers during a long-term patrol in Yaftal e Sofla, in the mountainous region of Feyzabad, east of Kunduz, Afghanistan, early morning Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2009.

 

 

 

 Specialist Jonathan "Tito" Taylor leans against a rock wall as an Iraqi girl overlooks his shoulder in Salman Pak, near Baghdad, September 12, 2009. U.S. and Iraqi forces conducted a patrol to address any concerns local residents may have and to assess the area's security, U.S. army said. Picture taken September 12, 2009.

 

 1st Lieutenant Jeffrey Wismann speaks with an Iraqi boy during a combined foot patrol in Salman Pak, near Baghdad, September 12, 2009. Iraq army soldiers and U.S. paratroopers conducted the routine patrol in one of the town's neighbourhoods in order to assess any concerns local residents had and to check on the area's security, the U.S. army said. Picture taken September 12, 2009.

 

 coffin of Black Watch soldier Kevin Elliot is carried from St Mary's Church on September 15, 2009 in Dundee, Scotland. Private Elliot was killed last month during a rocket attack in the Babaji district of Helmand in Afghanistan.

 

 Black Watch firing party pay their respects with a gun salute to fallen comrade Kevin Elliot at Barnhill Cemetery on September 15, 2009 in Dundee, Scotland. Private Elliot was killed last month during a rocket attack in the Babaji district of Helmand in Afghanistan.

 

RIP