Staff Sergeant Gareth 'Woody' Wood does the lonely walk - he alone has to approach the IED, leaving his support crew a safe distance behind. Photograph: Stuart WebbAfghanistan: 'Don't Get Too Close - If He Goes Up You'll Go With Him' -- The Guardian
It is one of the army's most dangerous jobs – finding and diffusing IEDs, the homemade bombs that have been used to deadly effect by the Taliban in Afghanistan. Stuart Webb talks to and photographs the men on the frontline.
Guardsman James Stephenson is just 20 years old, but when the soldiers of the 1st Battalion of the Coldstream Guards leave their base in the Babaji area of Helmand, he leads the patrol. Stephenson's nickname is "Steveo", but on duty in Afghanistan, everyone calls him "Vallon Man". The Vallon is the metal detector used to sweep for bombs – and being a Vallon Man is one of the army's most dangerous jobs.
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My Comment: One of the best articles that I have read on what is without question the most dangerous job in Afghanistan. Read it all.
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