THE TENSION: Combat Camera: Troops Conduct Operation Champion Sword in Eastern Afghanistan

U.S. Army and Afghan National Army soldiers patrol Sabari during an air assault mission to search the Khost province, Afghanistan, during Operation Champion Sword, July 28, 2009. Operation Champion Sword is a joint operation involving Afghanistan National Security Forces and International Security Assistance Forces focused on specific militant targets and safe havens within Sabari and Terezai Districts of Khost province in eastern Afghanistan. (U.S. Army photo by Spc. Matthew Freire.)

U.S. Army soldiers set up communications during an air assault mission, Operation Champion Sword, to search the Khost province, Afghanistan, July 28, 2009. The soldiers are assigned to the 25th Infantry Division’s Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 2nd Battalion, 377th Parachute Field Artillery Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, Airborne. (U.S. Army photo by Spc. Matthew Freire.)

U.S. Army soldiers conduct an air assault mission, Operation Champion Sword, to search the Khost province, Afghanistan, July 28, 2009. (U.S. Army photo by Spc. Matthew Freire.)

U.S. Army soldiers patrol during an air assault mission, Operation Champion Sword, through the Sabari district in Khost province, Afghanistan, July 28, 2009. (U.S. Army photo by Spc. Matthew Freire.)

U.S. Army Sgt. Gilmore takes a retinal scan of an Afghan man during Operation Champion Sword in the Sabari district in Khost province, Afghanistan, July 28, 2009. Gilmore is assigned to the 25th Infantry Division’s Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 2nd Battalion, 377th Parachute Field Artillery Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, Airborne. (U.S. Army photo by Spc. Matthew Freire.)

Two U.S. Army soldiers pull security during Operation Champion Sword in Khost province, Afghanistan, July 28, 2009. (U.S. Army photo by Spc. Matthew Freire.)

A U.S. Army soldier permits an Afghan man to pass while conducting an air assault mission to search the Khost province, Afghanistan during Operation Champion Sword, July 28, 2009. (U.S. Army photo by Spc. Matthew Freire.)

U.S. Army Cpl. James Daoust, left, and Staff Sgt. McCarther use an interpreter to talk with an Afghan man during an air assault mission, Operation Champion Sword, to search the Khost province, Afghanistan, July 28, 2009. (U.S. Army photo by Spc. Matthew Freire.)

U.S. Army soldiers take cover as they wait for CH-47 Chinook helicopters to land so they can depart from an air assault mission, Operation Champion Sword,in the Khost province of Afghanistan, July 28, 2009. (U.S. Army photo by Spc. Matthew Freire.)

U.S. Army soldiers depart on a CH-47 Chinook helicopter after completing an air assault mission during Operation Champion Sword to search the Khost province, Afghanistan, July 28, 2009. (U.S. Army photo by Spc. Matthew Freire.)

U.S. Army soldiers run out of a CH-47 Chinook helicopter during an air assault search mission in the Khost province, Afghanistan, during Operation Champion Sword, July 29, 2009. The soldiers are assigned to the 25th Infantry Division's 2nd Battalion, 377th Parachute Field Artillery Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team. (U.S. Army photo by Spc. Matthew Freire.)

U.S. Army Cpl. James Daoust provides medical care to an Afghan boy during an air assault mission to search the area of Khost province, Afghanistan during Operation Champion Sword, July 29, 2009. Daoust is a field medic assigned to the 25th Infantry Division’s Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 2nd Battalion, 377th Parachute Field Artillery Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, Airborne. (U.S. Army photo by Spc. Matthew Freire.)

U.S. Army Spc. Derrick Cherry pulls security during an air-assault mission to search the area of Khost province, Afghanistan during Operation Champion Sword, July 29, 2009. Cherry is assigned to the 25th Infantry Division’s 3rd Battalion, 509th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, Airborne. (U.S. Army photo by Spc. Matthew Freire.)

U.S. Army soldiers provide security during an air assault mission in support of Operation Champion Sword in the Khost province, Afghanistan, July 31, 2009. (U.S. Army photo by Spc. Christopher Nicholas.)

Afghan National Army soldiers transport rocket propelled grenades found during an air assault mission in support of Operation Champion Sword in Sabari, Afghanistan, July 31, 2009. (U.S. Army photo by Spc. Christopher Nicholas.)

An explosion following the destruction of a weapons cache found during an air assault mission in support of Operation Champion Sword in Sabari, Khost province, Afghanistan, July 31, 2009. (U.S. Army photo by Spc. Christopher Nicholas.)

During Operation Champion Sword, U.S. Army soldiers board a CH-47 Chinook helicopter from an air assault where they found a weapons cache and detained the cache owner in the Sabari District of Khost province, Afghanistan, July 31, 2009. Operation Champion Sword is a joint operation involving Afghanistan National Security Forces and International Security Assistance Forces focused on specific militant targets and safe havens within Sabari and Terezai Districts of Khost province in eastern Afghanistan. (U.S. Army photo by Spc. Christopher Nicholas.)