Mock villages like those Army troops will encounter in Afghanistan seem out of place in the bayous of Louisiana, but thousands of soldiers are training in the swampland for what they’ll face when they patrol Afghan villlages and engage the Taliban. The mosques are makeshift, but the scenarios the troops work through are taken from up-to-date intell reports. There are similar “live-action-roleplaying” sites elsewhere in the country, but journalist James Dao got permission to visit this one and write about what he saw. It is, he says, Counterinsurgency 101.
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About the Author: I regard historic research as a never-ending Easter egg hunt: You never know where you'll find a hidden treasure. Growing up with parents who told stories of family history probably had a lot to do with that. I realized early on that history is about lives already lived. I've met war veterans, early aviators, friends of Abraham Lincoln's in-laws, and a host of others who shared their histories with me – and it was never boring!
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