This is the phrasing for a small market / agricultural center being developed in a rural and isolated valley in Afghanistan. It is both an economic assistance program and a cultural and recreational center.

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“There’s a lot of personal payback in what we do, but some of it is a little bittersweet, because we invest a lot of ourselves in the relationship here,” Chatfield said. “And, it won’t all be finished while we’re here this year, and maybe not next year, so we have to carry that unfinished business around with us when we leave. But we’ll also carry the pride of accomplishment.”

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“We saved his life and this little guy can now grow up,” she said. “He could be known for greatness in his country some day. You never know.”

She wiped away a tear, a ‘Ctrl-Alt Del’ for her emotions and her professional decorum. Her mentally exhausted teammates also gathered themselves and pitched in. Smiles soon returned to everyone’s face.

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One of the members of the female treatment team is an Army captain who has been working at the clinic for approximately two months. For security reasons, her name will not be mentioned in this article. In her job at home, she’s a primary care provider at her base’s medical clinic.

The captain said she provides the same basic primary medical care she does back home. Diseases are often more progressed than in the states due to lack of available health care; however, the extent of service she provides is the same. The big difference from her job in the states is that here she’s creating an opportunity for a whole sector of the population to receive care that would have been otherwise unavailable.

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One hundred fifty bee boxes were delivered to Bazarak District Sept. 17 as part of an overall $180,000 province-wide project conducted by the local government and the Panjshir Provincial Reconstruction Team to help both the local economy and boost agricultural production.

Seventy-five families in each of the six lower districts throughout Panjshir will receive two of the $200 bee boxes, training, a centrifuge and protective equipment. Bazarak is the fourth district to receive the bees.

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Signs of development are popping up in southern Afghanistan’s Uruzgan province. The Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force-Afghanistan and the U.S. Agency for International Development have been working hand in hand with the local government in the Khas Uruzgan District on a number of developmental projects.

“The [security forces] team has a close relationship with the villagers in Khas Uruzgan and is trying to empower the District administration, improve security by partnering with the Afghan national security forces and reduce support for the insurgents,” a USAID representative said.

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Northeast of Kabul in the small village of Khata Kheyl children scrambled and screamed, not in terror, but in joy as Afghan national army soldiers threw out handfuls of candy and crayons.

Members of Company C, 2nd Squadron 101st Cavalry of the New York Army National Guard from Camp Blackhorse, were teamed with ANA soldiers from 4th Kandak, 2nd Brigade 201st Corp for a Humanitarian Assistance mission.

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In the early morning hours of September 2, Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) and the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) successfully delivered a new turbine to Kajaki Dam in Helmand province, Afghanistan.

The result of the operation will be a much needed increase in capacity to generate electrical power, which will create a better quality of life for Afghan people in southern Afghanistan.

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Thousands of jubilant Afghans packed Kabul’s national stadium to welcome home Rohullah Nikpai, the nation’s first Olympic medallist.

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Members of the Australian Reconstruction Task Force and Task Force Castle’s 420th Engineer Brigade completed the emplacement of two Mabey Johnson bridges near Andar and Moqur in eastern Afghanistan.

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