Open for Business
SAFAR BAZAAR, Helmand province, Afghanistan — U.S. Marine Lance Cpl. Channing Bergen, 19, from Waterloo, Wisc., and Sgt. Robert Cronk, 25, from Baroda, Mich., a rifleman and a combat engineer with 2nd Platoon, India Company, 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, work to open a door for Afghan National Army soldiers searching shops for illegal drugs and improvised explosive device components during Operation Sandman here, Dec. 28. Safar Bazaar was once a hotbed for insurgents, its shops teeming with illegal drugs and streets laden with improvised explosive devices. Over the last two years, four Marine infantry battalions and their Afghan National Security Forces counterparts have labored to make it safe. Today, the buzzing bazaar is the commercial hub of southern Garmsir district. Thousands of Afghans from around the district travel to the bazaar each week to purchase goods.
(U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Reece Lodder). Original public domain image from Flickr