One shopkeeper uses a single solar panel, mounted to the top of his shop, to power his printer. He runs a small-scale photography studio in the bazaar. Prior to the large-scale solar energy project, electricity was scarce in Nawa. Shop owners had to provide their own generator or solar panel to have electricity. Photo by Cpl. Meredith Brown

A single solar panel is mounted above a shop, a wire runs from the panel into the shop and attaches to a car battery, providing the only source of power for the shopkeeper. The storeowner operates a small photography studio, where he takes photos in his shop and prints them out for his customers.

Situations like this are common for the shopkeepers in Nawa district who do not have a central power source.

Many residents throughout the northern half of Helmand receive their energy from the hydroelectric power plant located at the Kajaki dam. However, the power supply does not reach Nawa, which is located in the southern portion of Helmand province.

Now, with the help of a solar energy project in the district, there is a new opportunity for the shopkeepers in the Nawa bazaar. Nearly 150 shops in the bazaar will be able to receive steady power from the project.

Capt. Brandon Newell, Expeditionary Energy Liaison Officer for Regional Command Southwest and a native of St. Amant, La., says this is the first type of large-scale solar hybrid project in Helmand to date.

“We’re not just trying to introduce something that’s sustainable into their community,” explained Newell who also holds an electrical engineering degree from Louisiana State University. “We’re taking something that they understand at a smaller level and trying to provide them an opportunity at a much larger, more centralized capability, which will be much more reliable.“

Two long rows of solar panels were put together, mounted and welded to the roof of the Nawa district governor’s compound and wires were ran to a large storage container where the power is converted into consumable energy. The energy runs to different meters throughout the bazaar.

Solar panels used to collect energy emitted by the sun are mounted to the roof of the Nawa district governor's compound, Dec. 29. Shop owners in the Nawa bazaar will be able to buy electricity on a pre-paid card for individual consumption in their shops. Photo by Cpl. Meredith Brown

At this point, shop owners can wire the electricity to their individual shops, where they will install a separate meter. The district governor will issue the shopkeepers pre-paid cards that they insert into their specific meter. The amount of wattage that the storeowners buy dictates the amount of electricity that they can use. However, once a certain amount of electricity is bought, there is not a time limit on when they must use the power.

Two local Afghans serve as maintenance operators who are responsible for keeping the system up and running once everything is installed. The money raised from selling the power, pays the operators’ salaries and the left-over money accumulates for later maintenance or expansion.

“We’re not trying to dictate what the end product is for them,” said Newell. “We’re trying to facilitate an opportunity for them to take ownership and run the system, to use it for the benefit of individual shops and the benefit the entire community,”

After walking through the bazaar and talking with the local Afghans, Newell said sewing, lighting and running fans in the summer were common uses for the power.

Once the batteries arrive in Afghanistan, the shop owners will also have the opportunity to stay open later. Because batteries cannot be transported through the Pakistan border, power will only be available during daylight. Once the batteries arrive, they will serve as a storage system for extra power collected during the day that can be used throughout the night.

Sarwar Akbari, a renewable energy engineer who has been working on the project over the past few months, said the project is important because it gives the locals a chance to reasonably use electricity.

“Before they were using generators and single panels,” said Akbari. “The shopkeepers in the bazaar are very poor people. They can’t prepare fuel for the generators and purchase individual panels. They are very happy with us that we are finishing our project and are about to install the meters.”

The project is expected to be completed within the next two weeks.

Story by Cpl. Meredith Brown
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Lance Cpl. Christopher J. Gray, a rifleman with Bravo Company, 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, peers through his rifle combat optic, which now has a hole through it caused by an insurgent's bullet. Gray's head was only six inches away from the impact when it struck his rifle during a firefight, May 15. Gray suffered a minor shrapnel wound to his face and continued to fight during the engagement. Gray, 20, is from Warner Robins, Ga. Photo by Sgt. Brian Tuthill

All Marines endure some risk of serious injury or even death while deployed to combat, but for Lance Cpl. Christopher J. Gray, a few inches and a punctured rifle is all that separated him from a very bad day on the battlefield.

Gray, a 20-year-old rifleman with Bravo Company, 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, and his Marines are no strangers to direct conflicts with insurgents in Nawa’s northern area. On May 15, during the final patrol of his deployment, Gray and his seasoned squad were in a firefight near Patrol Base Poole.

The squad was engaged by approximately eight insurgents from two locations with machine guns and AK-47 rifles. The patrol found cover in a nearby irrigation canal during the battle and Gray, who had his M-16A4 up in his shoulder looking through his rifle combat optics at a nearby building, heard the crack of a bullet and felt a sharp pain in his face.

Gray said he heard and felt shock of the bullet’s impact, causing him to drop his rifle to his side. When he noticed blood on his face, he notified his patrol leader, but continued to fight.

An insurgent's bullet punched a hole through the base of the rifle combat optic of Lance Cpl. Christopher J. Gray, a rifleman with Bravo Company, 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment. Photo by Sgt. Brian Tuthill

It was not until the firefight was over and Marines began to return to the patrol base did Gray notice that the bullet had punched a hole right through the base of his RCO’s aluminum housing, sending the metal shard into his cheek.

Only six inches separated his right temple from the bullet’s impact on his weapon.

Gray said looking back on the events after they happened made him realize just how close he had come to being seriously injured or killed.

“That was my last patrol before going home,” said Gray, a native of Warner Robins, Ga., while shaking his head.

Gray’s squad has already endured one of their Marines killed in action in January. That Marine is now the namesake of their patrol base. In total, Bravo Company has suffered three of the battalion’s five fatalities during the deployment.

“When I first saw what happened to Gray, I thought it was a little too close for comfort,” said 1st Lt. Paul C. Trower, 2nd Platoon commander, Bravo Company, 1/3 “When Gray arrived, he was fine, but a little shaken up and had some adrenaline pumping. He was very calm, considering what had happened.”

Trower, 25, from Fort Hood, Texas, said as a platoon commander, hearing about engagements and close calls like that makes him hold his breath, but was relieved that all of his Marines came back alright.

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Story by Sgt. Brian Tuthill

Within minutes of leaving the protective barriers of Observation Post Khers for a security patrol Dec. 21, a squad of Marines and Afghan national army soldiers heard the sharp pops of small arms fire nearby.

“They always shoot at us,” said Sgt. Mike L. Osburn, a squad leader with 1st Platoon, Bravo Company, 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, who led the patrol. “It wasn’t very close. They don’t really want to fight today.”

For Marines operating from the joint Marine and ANA outpost, referred to by Marines simply as “ManBearPig,” getting shot at by Taliban insurgents from a distance is a daily occurrence in this remote northwestern area of Nawa district. ManBearPig is argued to be one of the most dangerous and isolated posts Marines maintain in Nawa.

“Sometimes the shots come close, but usually they’re not very accurate,” said Osburn, a 25-year-old from Raleigh, N.C., who has completed previous combat deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan with 1/3. “A few days ago we took machine gun fire that hit our guard tower and around the barricades. You always have to keep an eye over your shoulder.

“It’s kind of like the ‘Wild West’ out here,” said Osburn, who leads his Marines on security patrols through what he describes as very muddy, flat and unforgiving terrain where Afghans farm the desert landscape using irrigation canals. “It’s not gun slinging every day, but it’s not very friendly. When our patrol walks by, kids run into homes, people stop farming and just kind of disappear. It’s like an old western where everyone in town knows the bad guys are about to show their face around the corner.”

Another danger for Marines and ANA soldiers at ManBearPig is the threat of improvised explosive devices, both on and off of roads. One nearby road is so scarred by blasts and visibly peppered with waiting bombs that Marines, civilians and insurgents alike know to keep well clear of it. Not long ago, Marines discovered an unlucky insurgent who tried planting a bomb and was killed when he accidentally stepped on another bomb’s pressure activation plate, said Osburn.

Bravo Company Marines say conducing counterinsurgency operations and working with the population at Nawa’s northwestern edge is challenging due to the Taliban’s undermining influence and intimidation of local citizens who are afraid to come forward. Sometimes the only way Afghan citizens will speak with Marines is behind a wall or building, where they know insurgents can’t see.

“We embed ANA soldiers in each of our patrols,” said 2nd Lt. Victor P. Barnes, Jr., platoon commander, 1st Platoon, Bravo Company. “They notice a lot of the little things in town faster than we do. They can tell when something’s out of the norm.”

Typically, ANA soldiers enlist from Afghan provinces other than Helmand and speak mostly Dari, but an advantage of serving alongside this unit of ANA soldiers is nearly all of them speak Pashto, the primary language in Nawa. This allows the ANA to take the lead in interacting with local citizens if an interpreter is not around, said Osburn.

“Living here with the ANA is very interesting, and we all get along great,” said Barnes. “Thankfully, we have an interpreter, but we’ve learned some Pashtu, they’ve learned some English, and we’re teaching them some of our tactics.”

Last week, Marines also included ANA soldiers in their Marine Corps Martial Arts Program training to further enhance the soldiers’ combat effectiveness.

When not on patrol in the often knee-deep mud which can stop vehicles in their tracks, Marines spend time at ManBearPig standing guard posts or enjoying precious hours of rest.
Some Marines pursue personal interests in their off time, like Lance Cpl. Ryan C. Jensen, a machine gunner with Scout Sniper Platoon, Bravo Company. Jensen said he has goals of developing his creative skills in many different ways over the months he expects to spend at the small camp.

At night Jensen often plays his harmonica, guitar, drumsticks, reads and writes, or draws in his sketchbook. Recently, he has begun writing rap lyrics for a satirical music video in which he and his platoon mates will star.

“I think we got the lucky card and will be at ManBearPig the whole deployment,” said Jensen, a 24-year-old from Sonoma, Calif. “When you’re not getting bullets flying over your head, this is a peaceful place. There’s a lot to see here for inspiration you can write about. I really want to leave here having bettered myself.”

But ManBearPig is certainly not all quiet or fun and games, Jensen warned.

“We’ve trained hard and we want to be where the action is,” he said of his platoon. “We took a [rocket-propelled grenade] attack the first day we were out here and it was a real wakeup call. Right now, this is the place for fighting bad guys.”

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Story by Sgt. Brian Tuthill