Special Projects

Counter Insurgency Training:  Playas, N.M.

Three-part series with photo galleries and audio slide shows

By Christine Steele

The Marketplace:

PLAYAS, N.M. – It’s 9:30 in the morning and the market is brimming with people. Indian Bollywood music blares over a loudspeaker and into the marketplace.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Afghan Women’s Voices:

PLAYAS, N.M. – None of the women knew each other when they boarded the bus in San Diego – on Sept. 11 – for the 15-hour journey that would take them to this remote corner of New Mexico’s Bootheel.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Soldier’s Voices:

PLAYAS, N.M. – Pfc. Jarrod Griffey and Pfc. Jeff Godbey stood at the entrance to the marketplace, eyes on the crowd. A car had just driven through the crowded market and a scuffle broke out.