Afghan Public Protection Program in Wardak Province

JALREZ, AFGHANISTAN - APRIL 13: A US Army soldier from the 10th Mountain Division patrols past a group of young afghan boys April 13, 2009 outside Jalrez, Afghanistan. The hilltop overlooking the apple growing district is next to a series of fighting trenches built over 20 years ago by afghan mujahideen fighting Soviet troops then occupying the country. US Army officers based in nearby Maidan Shahr, Wardak's provincial capital, are putting through a local volunteer militia force to protect ethnically mixed villages from Taliban incursions. Called the Afghan Public Protection Program, AP3, the US designed militia units receive a three-week training course, $120 per month salary and relies on locals to recognize outsiders especially along National Highway 1, the country's primary commercial and military artery, which runs through Wardak province. Taliban forces have been attacking military convoys and private vehicles with IEDs traveling Highway 1 between Kabul and Kandahar. (Photo by Robert Nickelsberg/Getty Images)