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"As U.S. President Barack Obama addresses the nation regarding the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan, we turn our attention to the men and women whose military service has taken them to that country.\nCurrently, around 100,000 troops occupy Afghanistan. Around half of that number were deployed by President Obama in 2009.\nHowever, as the occupation of Afghanistan becomes increasingly unpopular with citizens across the political spectrum, increasing pressure is on the President and his advisors to bring the troops home.\n\nSEE ALSO: Obama Address on Afghanistan Troops: Here\u2019s Where To Watch Online\nHere are some images posted to Flickr by the National Guard, the U.S. Army, and servicemen and women themselves. We hope all serving now in Afghanistan are able to make a safe and speedy return to their loved ones at home.\n\n\nTen Years in Afghanistan\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nAfghanistan From Above\n\nArmy Sgt. 1st. Class Veronica Ashe scans the Afghanistan countryside during a recent mission.\nPhoto by Capt. Thomas Cieslak courtesy of Flickr, isafmedia\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nObama Surprises Troops\n\nPresident Barack Obama waves to U.S. troops at Bagram Air Field in Afghanistan, March 28, 2010. \nOfficial White House photo by Pete Souza courtesy of Flickr, soldiersmediacenter\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nMarine Honors Fallen Family Man\n\nFirst Sgt. Dennis M. Bradley, non-kinetic fire support chief for 2nd Battalion, 9th Marine Regiment, touches the identification tags of Lance Cpl. Michael E. Geary, a rifleman with Fox Company, 2/9, Dec. 17, during a memorial service at Camp Hanson in Marjah, Helmand province, Afghanistan. Geary made the ultimate sacrifice while conducting combat operations in northern Marjah, Dec. 8.Regimental Combat Team 1.\nImage courtesy of Flickr, dvids\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nWaterfall in Afghanistan\n\nCoalition Forces walk by a waterfall in Jalrez Valley while traveling to the village of Sequala to conduct Key Leader Engagement.\nU.S. Army photo by Sgt Russell Gilchrest courtesy of Flickr, isafmedia\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nImproving Governance in Khost Province\n\nAbdul Jabar Naeemi, Khost Province governor, listens to U.S. Navy Cmdr. Willie Billingslea, from Atlanta, Khost Provincial Reconstruction Team commander, during a meeting to discuss the concerns, current events and the future of the Khost PRT, May 13.\nPhoto by U.S. Air Force Senior Airman Julianne M. Showalter, courtesy of Flickr, isafmedia\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nOn Patrol in Afghanistan\n\nCapt. Nathan Springer, Headquarters and Headquarters Troop Commander, 1st Squadron, 91st Cavalry Regiment (Airborne), looks up the mountain on July 19 while on patrol during Operation Saray Has. During Operation Saray Has, two rocket positions were found that had been previously used to attack Forward Operating Base Naray.\nImage courtesy of Flickr, soldiersmediacenter\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nHelping the Wounded\n\nGreenwich, Ohio native, Army Pfc. Sarah Becker a medic with the 173rd ABCT Special Troops Battalion, treats her patient, Waqas Hayat, a garment worker in Kabul after an automobile accident near Camp Torkham on Aug. 21.\nImage courtesy of Flickr, soldiersmediacenter\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nBravo Troop Provides Overwatch Security\n\nU.S. Army Sgt. Brian Denery, a Cherokee, Iowa, resident and fire support specialist with Headquarters and Headquarters Troop, on a mission with Bravo Troop, 1st Squadron, 113th Cavalry Regiment, uses binoculars to scan his sector of fire during a dismounted patrol in the Khoe-Safi District, Dec. 9. Denery provides overwatch security for fellow service members patrolling Dandarh Village. Bravo Troop visited the village to conduct a patrol and to establish a relationship with the village malik and elders.\nImage courtesy of Flickr, dvids\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nOperation Champion Sword\n\nU.S. Army Pfc. Branden Hazuka, assigned to 2nd Battalion, 377th Parachute Field Artillery Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, searches a qallat, or an Afghan home, for explosives and weapons during an air assault mission in Khost province, Afghanistan during Operation Champion Sword, Aug. 2. Afghan national security forces and International Security Assistance Forces teamed up for the joint operation, targeting specific militants in eastern Afghanistan.\nImage courtesy of Flickr, dvids\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nOperation Saray Has\n\nA Soldier from Headquarters and Headquarters Troop, 1st Squadron, 91st Cavalry Regiment (Airborne), watches cattle run for their lives while a CH-47 helicopter prepares to land on Landing Zone Shetland during Operation Saray Has July 19 near Forward Operating Base Naray, Afghanistan.\nImage courtesy of Flickr, familymwr\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nFighting in Kunar Province Mountains\n\nU.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Matthew Kahler, left, supervises and provides security for Pfcs. Jonathan Ayers and Adam Hamby while they emplace an M240 machine gun as part of a fighting position in the mountains of Afghanistan's Kunar Province on Oct. 23, 2007. The soldiers are all from 2nd Battalion, 503rd Parachute Infantry Regiment.\nDoD photo by Staff Sgt. Justin Holley, U.S. Army, courtesy of Flickr, soldiersmediacenter\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nSoldiers Lay Down Mortar Fire\n\nSpc. Gareth Warner drops a 120mm mortar round into the tube while Spc. Ricky Olivo keeps the gun on target during a fire mission on Combat Outpost Zurok in Paktika province, Afghanistan, July 13. The Soldiers are deployed with the 3rd Battalion, 509th Airborne Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division.\nImage courtesy of Flickr, dvids\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nMedic Treats Soldier\n\nA special forces team medic assigned to the Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force- Afghanistan applies medical treatment to another Soldier who received shrapnel wounds from an RPG explosion while battling Taliban fighters in the Sangin District area of Helmand Province April 10. The soldier was able to continue fighting minutes later.\nU.S. Army Photo by Spc. Daniel Love courtesy of Flickr, soldiersmediacenter\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nHelping Patients in Uruzgan Province\n\nU.S. Army Soldiers help injured Afghan villagers onto a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter during an operation to transport patients in Uruzgan province, Afghanistan, March 28, 2010.\nU.S. Army photo by Spc. Nicholas T. Loyd courtesy of Flickr, soldiersmediacenter\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nA Soldier Gets a Hand\n\nAn Afghanistan national police officer helps U.S. Army 2nd Lt. Jonathon Reabe, of the Provincial Reconstruction Team from Forward Operating Base Kalagush, out of a pool he fell into while crossing a stream during a patrol of Balik in the Nuristan Province of Afghanistan June 14, 2007. \nU.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Michael Bracken courtesy of Flickr, soldiersmediacenter\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nHomecoming\n\nAmber Caskey hugs her boyfriend, Staff Sgt. David E. Holeman, during a welcome home ceremony held May 1, 2011, at the Kentucky Air National Guard Base in Louisville, Ky., for members of the Kentucky National Guard\u2019s Agribusiness Development Team II. Comprised of about 60 Army and Air National Guardsmen, KYADT II just returned from a 12-month deployment Afghanistan, where they worked to make Afghani farmers become agriculturally self-sufficient, fostered business opportunities through a women's-empowerment initiative and provided force protection.\nU.S. Air Force Photo by Maj. Dale Greer courtesy of Flickr, thenationalguard\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://mashable.com/2011/06/22/afghanistan-photos/>