Photography: Afghanistan: nawa06

Nawa is a rural area of the volatile Taliban.stronghold with an estimated population of 80,000. Last summer Marines deployed to the region - the first significant troop presence since the invasion in 2001 -- cleared the area of insurgents. By day.the current Marines patrol and {quote}hold{quote} the area's precarious calm through punishing daily foot patrols. By night the Taliban, referred to by locals as Pakistani Taliban who come to Nawa for multi-week stints before returning to nearby Pakistan. They terrorize Nawa residents who work with Americans by delivering.warning {quote}night notes{quote} to the local mullah and killings or maiming. The Female Engagement Team deployed in Nawa is one of the first teams.sent to theater with stateside training for the gender specific role of engaging with Afghan women. It is the first time there has been an all-female unit within any branch of the U.S. military. Unfortunately the.effort has failed to secure a critical component towards actually realizing female engagement - female interpreters who can speak Pashto.and thus directly interact with Afghan women without a male present to steer and manipulate the conversation. In Nawa the female engagement team, known as FET, consists of four women - Sergeant Guadalupe Rodriguez, the team leader, who works in.tandem with Corporal Angela Pacheco; and Lance Corporal Heather Sample, the second team leader under Sergeant Rodriguez, who works in.tandem with Corporal Christina Oliver.Nawa is a rural area of the volatile Taliban.stronghold with an estimated population of 80,000. Last summer Marines deployed to the region - the first significant troop presence since the invasion in 2001 -- cleared the area of insurgents. By day.the current Marines patrol and {quote}hold{quote} the area's precarious calm through punishing daily foot patrols. By night the Taliban, referred to by locals as Pakistani Taliban who come to Nawa for multi-week stints before returning to nearby Pakistan. They terrorize Nawa residents who work

Nawa is a rural area of the volatile Taliban.stronghold with an estimated population of 80,000. Last summer Marines deployed to the region - the first significant troop presence since the invasion in 2001 -- cleared the area of insurgents. By day.the current Marines patrol and "hold" the area's precarious calm through punishing daily foot patrols. By night the Taliban, referred to by locals as Pakistani Taliban who come to Nawa for multi-week stints before returning to nearby Pakistan. They terrorize Nawa residents who work with Americans by delivering.warning "night notes" to the local mullah and killings or maiming. The Female Engagement Team deployed in Nawa is one of the first teams.sent to theater with stateside training for the gender specific role of engaging with Afghan women. It is the first time there has been an all-female unit within any branch of the U.S. military. Unfortunately the.effort has failed to secure a critical component towards actually realizing female engagement - female interpreters who can speak Pashto.and thus directly interact with Afghan women without a male present to steer and manipulate the conversation. In Nawa the female engagement team, known as FET, consists of four women - Sergeant Guadalupe Rodriguez, the team leader, who works in.tandem with Corporal Angela Pacheco; and Lance Corporal Heather Sample, the second team leader under Sergeant Rodriguez, who works in.tandem with Corporal Christina Oliver.Nawa is a rural area of the volatile Taliban.stronghold with an estimated population of 80,000. Last summer Marines deployed to the region - the first significant troop presence since the invasion in 2001 -- cleared the area of insurgents. By day.the current Marines patrol and "hold" the area's precarious calm through punishing daily foot patrols. By night the Taliban, referred to by locals as Pakistani Taliban who come to Nawa for multi-week stints before returning to nearby Pakistan. They terrorize Nawa residents who work