America's North Shore Journal

The system requires little to set up and is very efficient. The water purification system can filter water at a maximum rate of 60 gallons every minute.

Its ability to run with very little effort from the user makes the system simple. Because it is low maintenance and runs on solar energy, the only thing the user needs to do is change filters as they get dirty.

“The simplicity of the system makes this a great opportunity for these people to have clean water,” said McCormick. “The clean water will be rid of most of the bacteria and diseases it [typically] contains.”

Prayer and hard work pushed her forward, she said.

“I had to work very hard; sometimes I was even scared for my life. I still went ahead and did it,” she said.

Mohammadzai said she grew brave because of all her hard work.

“If you receive, or get, or achieve something difficult, then you are so proud and always happy. If you get something easily, then you are always looking to the ground, you don’t think that you worked hard for it, you just got it. I’m so proud and I can talk to anybody bravely because I worked hard,” she said.

Afghan National Army troops boarded a C-17 cargo plane at the International Security Assistance Force airport for a flight to Turkey to take part in the first of a series of extensive training opportunities in securing the development and defense of Afghanistan.

The 119 ANA troops are the first group to take part in military training for several weeks of specialized operations. It will be conducted primarily by Turkish forces with assistance from American forces and includes courses in leadership along with the skills necessary to perform in the capacity of a special operations force unit.

“No one will give your rights to you as a gift, you have to take them. Who is saying women can’t do anything. We can do everything, anything you want,” she said. “We have to fight against corruption and those who are against women working.” It is with speeches like this, given at the Ministry of Interior’s International Women’s Day recognition ceremony March 4, that it’s easy to see why Shafiqa, an Afghan National Police officer, was selected as a 2010 International Woman of Courage.

Every week, military members, contractors, DA and DoD civilians, coalition members, local vendors, and people from the embassy and the State Department, come together and prepare donated items for distribution to our poverty stricken Afghan brothers and sisters. We’re used to that “miracle.”

Meanwhile, Gunnery Sgt. John S. Mosser and Maj. Dan Strelkauskas, then a captain and team leader, were dealing with mounting injuries and relentless fire on the ground near the cave system. Mosser was awarded the Navy Cross and Strelkauskas received a Silver Star Medal for their actions that day. Over the radio, Mosser, ordered no one else enter the draw.

“He was basically saying over the radio, ‘nobody else comes in. If anybody else comes in you’re going to die,’” Torrisi said. Then a bullet ripped through the only other corpsman on the ground, piercing his lungs and other vital organs.

ISAF and Afghan forces have recently observed militants using infants as human shields during hostile acts against Afghan and international forces operating throughout Afghanistan.

“The Taliban’s actions that endanger civilians, especially children, show complete disregard for the people of Afghanistan,” said ISAF Joint Command Deputy Chief of Staff for Joint Operations Maj. Gen. Michael Regner.

Marja has been characterized as representing the first test of President Barack Obama’s strategy to add 30,000 more troops in the fight against Afghanistan-based insurgents. As the initial phase of operations comes to a close, Lynn said, Marja has emerged as an area where hope is returning.

“Because of our new strategy, and President Obama’s deployment of additional troops, Marja is one of many cities in Afghanistan that has begun to have hope,” he said. “And with Pakistan’s capture of key Taliban leaders, the strategy of targeting adversaries on both sides of the border is paying off.”

In the wake of Operation Moshtarak, the largest operation since the arrival of coalition forces in Afghanistan, the engineers are redoubling their efforts to bring a functioning public life to the citizens of Nad’e Ali.

The focus of current construction efforts is in the district governor’s compound, said Staff Sgt. John Marley, a member of the Nad’e Ali Military Stabilization and Support Team.

“The construction could start under the security and safety this bubble created,” said Marley, referring to a set of walls enclosing the compound.