Iraqi soldiers assemble for inspection and orders. Courtesy of J. Joseph DuWors.

Life in some areas in Afghanistan is much like it was centuries ago. Courtesy of J. Joseph DuWors.

An Afghan farmer in his poppy field. It has been estimated that Afghanistan is the source of up to 90 percent of the world’s opium. Courtesy of J. Joseph DuWors.

Members of the Kabul Military Branch after attending sacrament meeting on May 28, 2010. Branch members included U.S. military personnel doctors, lawyers, diplomatic personnel, contractors, nongovernment aid workers, and two American executive television producers for Channel One (Afghan television station). Courtesy of Eugene J. Wikle.

Members of the Kabul Afghanistan Military Branch on November 20, 2009. Courtesy of Eugene J. Wikle.

Kandahar Military Branch members on July 30, 2009. Left to right: Russell Greer, Cort Hacker (second counselor, branch presidency), Lilia Bullock, Donald Bullock, Carl Thomas, Gene Wikle (district president), Aleksei Juur (a member of the Estonian military and first counselor in the Estonia District presidency, who was serving for six months in Afghanistan), Dennis Britton (first counselor, branch presidency), and Greg Corbaley. Courtesy of Eugene J. Wikle.

Children throughout the world are generally trusting and friendly. Courtesy of J. Joseph DuWors.

Courtesy of J. Joseph DuWors.

Courtesy of J. Joseph DuWors.

Courtesy of J. Joseph DuWors.

Courtesy of Colby Jenkins.

The following six photos show scenes from daily life in Afghanistan. Courtesy of J. Joseph DuWors.

Courtesy of J. Joseph DuWors.

Courtesy of J. Joseph DuWors.

Courtesy of J. Joseph DuWors.

Courtesy of J. Joseph DuWors.

Chai, Afghan tea, plays an important social and cultural role in Afghan culture. Courtesy of J. Joseph DuWors.

Marine Corps Master Sergeant Julia Watson, serving in Helmand Province, performing humanitarian service projects for the citizens of Afghanistan. Sister Watson and others completed an irrigation canal project for the Afghan woman sitting next to her. Courtesy of Eugene J. Wikle.

September 2010 photo of the Kandahar Afghanistan Military Branch. Courtesy of Eugene J. Wikle.

Latter-day Saint chaplains Smith and Montoya stand in front of the Enduring Faith Chapel at Bagram, Afghanistan. Courtesy of Eugene J. Wikle.

Leadership of the Bagram Military Branch in front of the Enduring Freedom Chapel at Bagram Airfield in Afghanistan. Left to right: Chaplain James Montoya, Geoffrey Anderson (branch president), James Maxwell (first counselor), Kenneth Porter (second counselor), and Steven Dunn (district council member). Courtesy of Eugene J. Wikle.

Baptism of Darrell Lewis at Forward Operating Base Sharana. Left to right: Gentry Jensen, Aaron Eagan, Richard Budge, Darrell Lewis, Mike Eliassen and Alaric Young. Courtesy of Eugene J. Wikle.

Salerno Branch presidency on April 5, 2009. Left to right: James Carrico (first counselor), Steve Haga (president), Anthony Widdison (second counselor), and Jon Hensley (branch clerk). Courtesy of Eugene J. Wikle.

The following six photos are candid moments in the daily life of soldiers in Afghanistan. Courtesy of J. Joseph DuWors.

Courtesy of J. Joseph DuWors.

Courtesy of J. Joseph DuWors.

Courtesy of J. Joseph DuWors.

Courtesy of J. Joseph DuWors.

Courtesy of J. Joseph DuWors.

Afghanistan has long experience with foreign soldiers on its soil, dating back thoughts of years. Courtesy of J. Joseph DuWors.

Courtesy of J. Joseph DuWors.

Courtesy of J. Joseph DuWors.

Courtesy of J. Joseph DuWors.

Even combat patrols can have lighter moments. Courtesy
of J. Joseph DuWors.

Mark Choate standing in front of the entrance to Forward Operating Base Fenty at Jalalabad, Afghanistan, in January 2011. Courtesy of Mark Choate.

Afghanistan is an unusual mixture of old and new ways. Courtesy
of J. Joseph DuWors.

Courtesy of J. Joseph DuWors.

U.S. Army soldiers on patrol in an Afghan village. Courtesy of J. Joseph DuWors.

Branch presidency of the Salerno Military Branch in August 2009. Left to right: Anthony Widdison (second counselor), Don Ellibee (president), and James Carrico (first counselor). Courtesy of Eugene J. Wikle.

Sister Amanda Haney is shown on the day of her baptism. Courtesy of Eugene J. Wikle.

Leatherneck Military Branch leadership in Helmand Province, Afghanistan, in December 2010. Camp Leatherneck was the main support base for 14,000 Marines serving in southern Afghanistan. Left to right: Dan Firsdon, elders quorum president; Kevin Smidt, first counselor, branch presidency; David Snipes, branch president; Brian Sheetz, second counselor, branch presidency; and Logan Riddle, branch clerk. Courtesy of Eugene J. Wikle.

Typical dress Latter-day Saint Richard Belcher wore when traveling “outside the wire.” He noted, “While the dress does not disguise that I am a foreigner, it is less obvious when viewed through dirty and darkened windows.”
Courtesy of Richard Belcher.

Bagram Afghanistan Branch leadership. Left to right: Brother Isakson; Brother Dunn, elders quorum president; Brother Hinchcliff, district high councilor who was later called to serve as the branch president. They attended their meetings, spoke at the pulpit, and administered the sacrament while fully armed. Courtesy of Richard Belcher.

A memorial service in October 2009 at Forward Operating Base Bostin in the Naray District, Kunar Province, Afghanistan. Courtesy of Michael Beesley.

Bagram service member group in Afghanistan prior to the creation of the Kabul Afghanistan Military District. Courtesy of William Jackson.

Richard Belcher pictured with an Afghan MI-17 helicopter, which he requested due to the danger of insurgent attacks when traveling overland. Courtesy of Richard Belcher.

Kabul Afghanistan Military District leadership. Left to right: Todd Tyree, district council (Colonel, U.S. Air Force); Erik Harp, district council, Latter-day Saint chaplain (Captain, U.S. Air Force); John Pearson, branch clerk (U.S./NATO
civilian staff); Joseph Jacobs, second counselor; Brent Bethers, Kabul Branch president; Justin Metcalf, first counselor; and Eugene J. Wikle, district president.
Courtesy of Eugene J. Wikle.

Major Mark Choate on board a helicopter. Courtesy of Mark Choate.

Program cover from a March 19, 2010, memorial service at Camp Blackhorse (near Kabul, Afghanistan) for Sergeant First Class Glenn J. Whetten. Courtesy of Eugene J. Wikle.

Armor officers proudly display their cavalry headgear. Courtesy of J. Joseph DuWors.

A Chinook helicopter coming in to pick up an element of Colby Jenkin’s Special Forces team following an operation in February 2005. Courtesy of Colby Jenkins.

Latter-day Saint father (Kurt Liechty, right) and son (Mike Liechty, left), who served at the same time in Afghanistan, are pictured with General David Petraeus, commander of the International Security Assistance Force, in February 2011. Courtesy of Eugene J. Wikle.

Enemy weapons and munitions Colby Jenkins’ soldiers discovered. He said, “We often found that despite having old
weapons systems, the Taliban fighters kept their weapons in decent working condition. Fortunate for us, their marksmanship was not as good as ours.” Courtesy of Colby Jenkins.

A typical scene at camps and forward operating bases in Afghanistan. Courtesy of J. Joseph DuWors.

Utah Army National Guard soldier Jill Stevens, who served one year as Miss Utah, with an Afghan child. Courtesy of Jill Stevens.

Specialist Jill Stevens comforting an Afghan child. Courtesy of Jill Stevens.

This photo was taken on Sunday, April 5, 2009, at the Salerno Military Branch at Forward Operating Base Salerno.
Courtesy of Eugene J. Wikle.

Brother Abraham, an Afghan member of the Church who was baptized in Europe, is shown sharing his testimony in Kabul,
Afghanistan. He has since emigrated to the United States. Courtesy of Eugene J. Wikle.

This photo of the Camp Phoenix service member group, which met in Kabul, was taken on February 22, 2009. Left to right: Alan Johnson, John Griffin, Frank Gomez (group leader), Gene Wikle (district president), Gerald Baumann, Clifford Teel, and Timothy Hall. Courtesy of Eugene J. Wikle.

Fraise Base Chapel at Kandahar Airfield in Afghanistan. Courtesy of Eugene J. Wikle.

Kabul Afghanistan District president Eugene J. Wikle and Latter-day Saint chaplain Ken Smith. Courtesy of Eugene J. Wikle.

Church members at Camp Phoenix, which was later renamed Camp Qargha, were located in Kabul about six miles from the international airport. Left to right: first row—Harry McClure (USAF), Eugene J. Wikle (district president), Keaton Southwick, Mike Stacey (U.S. Army); second row: Winn Noyes (first counselor, district presidency), Frank Gomez (group leader), Bob Resch (U.S. Army); third row: Nathan Anderson, (USN), Timothy Hall, and Brian Grimm (USMC). Courtesy of Eugene J. Wikle.

Church members stationed at Forward Operating Base Mehtar Lam, the capital of Laghman Province, Afghanistan, during October 2009. Left to right: Robert T. Peery, Gregrory McClellan, Steven B. Stanley, James A. Richardson (group leader), Troy Price, and Kyle Stucki. Courtesy of Eugene J. Wikle

Children are much the same everywhere in the world, including Afghanistan. Courtesy of J. Joseph DuWors.

Courtesy of J. Joseph DuWors.

Courtesy of J. Joseph DuWors.

Courtesy of J. Joseph DuWors.

Courtesy of J. Joseph DuWors.

These photos show elements of everyday life in the Afghan countryside. Courtesy of J. Joseph DuWors.

Courtesy of J. Joseph DuWors.

Courtesy of J. Joseph DuWors.

Courtesy of J. Joseph DuWors.

Courtesy of J. Joseph DuWors.

Attendees at a fireside presentation by Elder Bruce A. Carlson, General Authority Seventy, at ISAF headquarters on March 15, 2011, in Kabul, Afghanistan. Courtesy of Eugene J. Wikle.

Soldiers must be vigilant at all times when they are “outside the wire.” Courtesy of J. Joseph DuWors.

Sister Daffney Scherer, who served as the Kabul Military Branch Relief Society president and was a commander in the U.S. Navy, is pictured with President Gerald Brady, president of the Kabul Military Branch. Courtesy of Eugene J. Wikle.

Camp Leatherneck Base Chapel in Helmand Province, Afghanistan. Courtesy of Eugene J. Wikle.

Kandahar Afghanistan Branch presidency, September 14, 2008. Courtesy of Eugene J. Wikle.

Members of the Leatherneck Military Branch in Helmand Province, Afghanistan, on July 26, 2009. Courtesy of Eugene J. Wikle.

Camp Leatherneck Military Branch leadership assemble in their base chapel. Courtesy of Eugene J. Wikle.

Members of the Salerno Branch, Kabul Afghanistan Military District, on Christmas Day in 2008.
Courtesy of Eugene J. Wikle.

President Gene Wikle renders a final salute after a memorial service for Sergeant First Class Glen J. Whetten at Camp Blackhorse, east of Kabul. U.S. soldiers, sailors, Marines, and airman along with coalition forces from Afghanistan, Australia, Canada, France, and Germany paid tribute to Brother Whetton. Courtesy of Eugene J. Wikle.

Portions of Afghanistan are extremely rugged. Less than 15 percent of the land can support agriculture. Courtesy of J. Joseph DuWors.