fuckyeahmilitarywithpuppies:

Mascot Dogs of American Combat Outposts
They leave droppings, are dirty and carry diseases. They are beloved playthings that help break the drudgery of frontline life. They are forbidden. They are commonplace. They are the mascot dogs of American combat outposts in Afghanistan.

It isn’t hard to find them: every Afghan village seems to have dozens, a combination of communal pets, watchdogs and fighting animals. Once found, keeping them is as easy as providing a meal or two, and a bit of affection. Soldiers with the First Battalion, 87th Infantry adopted a dog after it started trotting alongside them during a foot patrol through villages in the Chardara District of Kunduz Province. It followed them back to the police compound they called home, and stayed after the soldiers fed it. Like other dogs adopted by the battalion, it often barked menacingly at Afghan police officers but wagged its tail cheerfully when it spotted American uniforms — suggesting it had received less than affectionate treatment from its former Afghan owners.

But the American outposts are not always safe havens for the strays. The military generally forbids keeping animals out of concerns that they will bring ticks or rabies and other diseases into outposts. Some platoon leaders will tolerate the pets because they cheer the troops, but company commanders will typically order them removed when they spot them. Sometimes the soldiers themselves get rid of the dogs, and not always gently. In northern Kunduz Province, soldiers shot several that had inhabited a police compound after the dogs woke the entire platoon with a noisy midnight fight over a chicken carcass.

(source)

This is a fantastic photo.