Meanwhile in Afghanistan

I snapped this photo from behind a .30 cal machine gun on top of my truck. There's a lot wrong with what's going on here, but I also think it's sort of pretty in a melancholy way, and not just visually.

The kids here have a strange relationship with us. We're the invader and the enemy, but they also idolize our strength and want our respect. I think that's the thing the young boys are trying to tell us. "We are strong", they are saying. But they don't know how to say it.

I hope they figure it out, the generation before them certainly doesn't know how.