An Afghan boys orphanage received almost 5,000 pounds of school supplies, clothing, personal hygiene items and medical supplies last Thursday from New York National Guard troops serving in Combined Joint Task Force Phoenix, Operation Enduring Freedom.

Afghan children are benefiting and thriving thanks to sustained efforts by a U.S. task force and a program that is helping to expand and improve their schools.

HBO is running another documentary in a triology about the War in Iraq. I have a connection in the form of Soldier serving over here with us now in Afghanistan who appears in the first production, the four-time Emmy Award winning "Baghdad ER."

Four members of the U.S. House of Representatives came to Camp Phoenix in Kabul on Sunday as part of an official congressional visit to Afghanistan.

One of the tactics of the Taleban has been to try to drive a wedge between the people and its legitimate government by setting up incidents where coalition forces cause civilian casualties and then exploit the situation for the sake of a "moral" advantage.

Donations of school supplies and children’s clothing from military families and friends at home are helping deployed New York Army National Guard soldiers in their mission to mentor and train Afghan national security Forces and support the Afghan people.

A new organization is improving the ability of the Afghan National Army to move capable forces from its training center to the operational commands.

A steady stream of difficult news continues to come out of Afghanistan - stories about the resurgent Taliban and ongoing terrorist threats, the inadequacies of the Karzai government and corruption, casualty rates including civilian deaths caused by the enemy and from both alleged and verified coalition actions.

The commanding general of the 42nd Infantry Division (Rainbow) came to Afghanistan on Sept. 25 and 26 to visit deployed members of his command serving in Combined Joint Task Force Phoenix VII.

Over the last week, more than 200 New York Army National Guard soldiers “ripped out” from Combined Joint Task Force Phoenix, having completed their one year active duty tour. In typical Army parlance, we have created our own verb from the acronym of R-I-P for Relief in Place.