Children in Conflict Zones

Photographs of children in conflict-affected areas, illustrating their daily lives, interactions with soldiers, and the impact of military presence on local communities.

A Young Girl Stands Behind a Line of Concertina Razor Wire Outside of a U.S. Marine Corps Forward Operating Base in the Town of Marjah, Helmand Province, Afghanistan

040612-M-0706S-017. Base: Al Shahabi State: Al Anbar Country: Iraq (IRQ) Scene Major Command Shown: 1/5, B Co.

060303-M-0374B-006. Subject Operation/Series: IRAQI FREEDOM Base: Fallujah Country: Iraq (IRQ) Scene Major Command Shown: 40580

050821-A-6108G-257. Subject Operation/Series: IRAQI FREEDOM Base: Najaf Country: Iraq (IRQ)

030521-M-4547R-049. Subject Operation/Series: COBRA GOLD Country: Thailand (THA)

An Iraqi child waits as U.S. Army Soldiers from 3rd Squadron, 2nd Calvary Striker Regiment search his home for known suspects in Muqdadiyah, Iraq, April 6, 2008.

030417-M-1112H-150. Subject Operation/Series: IRAQI FREEDOM Base: An Nasariyah State: Dhi Qar Country: Iraq (IRQ)

030405-M-3022S-001. Country: Iraq (IRQ)

030418-M-1112H-238. Base: An Nasariyah State: Dhi Qar Country: Iraq (IRQ)

050821-A-6108G-173. Base: Erbil Country: Iraq (IRQ)

A Young Girl Stands Behind a Line of Concertina Razor Wire Outside of a U.S. Marine Corps Forward Operating Base in the Town of Marjah, Helmand Province, Afghanistan

A U.S. Army Soldier with Joint Task Force-Bravo shows children their photo in Pisco, Peru, Aug. 20, 2007. The Department of Defense has deployed medical teams from Joint Task Force-Bravo at Soto Cano Air Base in Honduras and from Goodfellow Air Force Base in Texas to Peru to provide aid in the aftermath of an 8.0 magnitude earthquake that struck the area Aug. 15.

040331-M-5753Q-033. Base: Barwana State: Al Anbar Country: Iraq (IRQ)

050126-F-8584G-204. Base: Logistics Support Area Anaconda Country: Iraq (IRQ)

030413-M-0175R-064. Subject Operation/Series: IRAQI FREEDOM Country: Iraq (IRQ)

Local Haitians stand in line for some earthquake relief (food and water) being handed out by the U.S. Army Soldiers with Charlie Company, 2nd Battalion, 325th Airborne Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, N.C., on Jan. 20, 2010 at the stadium in Port au Prince, Haiti for Operation Unified Response. A devastating earthquake hit the region on Jan.12, 2010. Since then USSOUTHCOM has distributed more than 636,951 bottles of water and more than 473,325 Humanitarian Daily Rations.

A young boy crowd surfs over everybody to come to the front as local Haitians wait for some earthquake relief (food and water) being handed out by the U.S. Army Soldiers with Charlie Company, 2nd Battalion, 325th Airborne Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, N.C., on Jan. 20, 2010 at the stadium in Port au Prince, Haiti for Operation Unified Response. As more and more Haitians heard of the distribution the distribution line turned into a gathering. A devastating earthquake hit the region on Jan. 12, 2010. Since then USSOUTHCOM has distributed more than 636,951 bottles of water and more than 473,325 Humanitarian Daily Rations.

030121-F-7203T-030. Subject Operation/Series: ENDURING FREEDOM Base: Bagram Air Base State: Parwan Country: Afghanistan (AFG)

030501-M-5882-010. Subject Operation/Series: IRAQI FREEDOM Base: Al Hillah Country: Iraq (IRQ)

070525-A-3887D-149. Base: Iskanderiyah Country: Iraq (IRQ)

Members of an investigation team assigned to the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) build rapport with locals in the East Sepik Province, Papua New Guinea on Sep. 14, 2022. The investigation team visited multiple areas across the mountainous East Sepik Province in hopes of recovering missing U.S. service members lost during World War II. DPAAs mission is to achieve the fullest possible accounting for missing and unaccounted-for U.S. personnel to their families and the nation.

041006-F-3924S-015. Subject Operation/Series: OPERATION IRAQI FREEDOM Base: Baghdad Country: Iraq (IRQ)

041211-M-0173F-038. Country: Unknown

030403-M-9792P-022. Subject Operation/Series: IRAQI FREEDOM Country: Iraq (IRQ) Scene Major Command Shown: 11th Marines Regiment

051215-A-2718K-007. Subject Operation/Series: IRAQI FREEDOM Base: Mosul Country: Iraq (IRQ)

050821-A-6108G-161. Base: Najaf Country: Iraq (IRQ)

Local Iraqis watch US Marine Corps (USMC) Marines, Lima Company (L Co), 3rd Battalion (BN), 1ST Marine Division (MARDIV), conduct a raid at dusk in the market area of Nassir Wa Al Salam, Iraq. The 1 MARDIV is engaged in a Security and Stabilization Operation (SASO) in the Al Anbar Province during Operation IRAQI FREEDOM. Base: Nassir Wa Al Salam State: Al Anbar Country: Iraq (IRQ)

050107-N-9293K-243. Base: Banda Aceh State: Sumatra Country: Indonesia (IDN)

A group of local men filed onto the flightline to assist the Marines in offloading the hundreds of bags of flour aboard a KC-130J Super Hercules aircraft assigned to the 352nd VMGR after arriving at Gilgit Air Base, Pakistan, on Sept. 8, 2010.

030205-F-7203T-020. Subject Operation/Series: ENDURING FREEDOM Base: Grand Douda Country: Djibouti (DJI)

050621-A-6108G-215. Subject Operation/Series: IRAQI FREEDOM Base: Dohuk Country: Iraq (IRQ)

030415-M-7371B-009. Subject Operation/Series: IRAQI FREEDOM Base: Hasham Country: Iraq (IRQ) Scene Major Command Shown: 030415-M-7371B-001

041116-M-4855P-019. Subject Operation/Series: IRAQI FREEDOM Base: Habbaniyah Country: Iraq (IRQ)

050817-A-0527A-001. Subject Operation/Series: ENDURING FREEDOM Base: Kandahar Country: Afghanistan (AFG)

031110-F-0981H-017. Base: West Abu Ghurayb State: Baghdad Country: Iraq (IRQ) Scene Major Command Shown: AMC

070211-A-1526R-190. Base: Puerto Quetzal Country: Guatemala (GTM) Scene Major Command Shown: NORTHEAST

030823-M-7837W-041. Subject Operation/Series: IRAQI FREEDOM Base: Al Kut State: Wasit Country: Iraq (IRQ)

041105-M-0095Z-001. Base: Ad Diwaniyah State: Al Qadisiyah Country: Iraq (IRQ)

Candid shot of an Iraqi woman, in traditional dress, leaving a market area in Fallujah, Iraq, during Operation IRAQI FREEDOM. (Duplicate image, see also DASD0606634 or search 050821A6108G115). Base: Fallujah State: Al Anbar Country: Iraq (IRQ)

Members of the Anti-Taliban Forces (ATF) have lunch at an observation post site where US Marines were dispatched to destroy unexploded munitions dropped by coalition air sorties near the Kandahar International Airport, Kandahar, Afghanistan, during OPERATION ENDURING FREEDOM. Subject Operation/Series: ENDURING FREEDOM Base: Kandahar International Airport Country: Afghanistan (AFG)

060420-A-5043I-036. Subject Operation/Series: IRAQI FREEDOM Base: Rushdie Mula State: Baghdad Country: Iraq (IRQ) Scene Major Command Shown: 101ST ABD

050821-A-6108G-177. Base: Erbil Country: Iraq (IRQ)

050821-A-6108G-151. Base: Najaf Country: Iraq (IRQ)

031110-F-1798W-004. Base: Kirkuk Air Base Country: Iraq (IRQ)

060824-N-9076B-298. Base: Kupang Country: Indonesia (IDN)

060126-A-1211S-015. Subject Operation/Series: IRAQI FREEDOM Base: Camp Loyalty State: Baghdad Country: Iraq (IRQ) Scene Major Command Shown: A

030405-M-4779G-014. Subject Operation/Series: IRAQI FREEDOM Country: Iraq (IRQ) Scene Major Command Shown: 1 RCT

030404-M-4779G-031. Subject Operation/Series: IRAQI FREEDOM Country: Iraq (IRQ) Scene Major Command Shown: 1 RCT

Iraq, Mosul on 2022-10-18. The city of Mosul and the heritage of its historic city centre under reconstruction after being the capital of the Islamic State and following the destruction caused by the war with Daech. Photograph by Martin Bertrand. Irak, Mossoul le 2022-10-18. La ville de Mossoul et le patrimoine de son centre ville historique en reconstruction apres avoir ete la capitale de l' Etat Islamique et suite aux destruction engendres par la guerre avec Daech. Photographie de Martin Bertrand.

050821-A-6108G-138. Base: Najaf Country: Iraq (IRQ)

050918-A-6186K-025. State: Parwan Province Country: Afghanistan (AFG)

041007-A-0363C-014. Subject Operation/Series: ENDURING FREEDOM Base: Gayan District Country: Afghanistan (AFG)

031019-F-0981H-017. Subject Operation/Series: IRAQI FREEDOM Base: Baghdad Country: Iraq (IRQ)

050729-A-9889G-036. Subject Operation/Series: IRAQI FREEDOM Base: Fob Danger, Tikrit State: Salah Al Din Country: Iraq (IRQ)

Civilians standing along the curb watching US Marines street securing some found missiles during Operation IRAQI FREEDOM. (Substandard image). Subject Operation/Series: IRAQI FREEDOM Base: Baghdad Country: Iraq (IRQ)

041211-M-0173F-018. Country: Unknown

041229-M-2353F-005. Subject Operation/Series: IRAQI FREEDOM Base: Fallujah State: Al Anbar Country: Iraq (IRQ)

030321-M-9792P-026. Subject Operation/Series: IRAQI FREEDOM Country: Iraq (IRQ) Scene Major Command Shown: 11th Marines Regiment

060502-A-5745M-043. Subject Operation/Series: IRAQI FREEDOM Base: Camp Liberty State: Baghdad Country: Iraq (IRQ) Scene Major Command Shown: 10TH MTN

040628-F-6335P-088. Base: Mahaicony Country: Guyana (GUY) Scene Major Command Shown: ACC

100123-N-4774B-866PETIT TROU DE NIPPES, Haiti (Jan. 23, 2010) Sailors assigned to the guided-missile Cruiser USS Normandy (CG 60) transport a Haitian girl for a medical evacuation. Normandy is supporting Operation Unified Response after a 7.0 magnitude earthquake caused severe damage in Haiti Jan. 12.

030419-M-5607A-027. Subject Operation/Series: IRAQI FREEDOM Country: Iraq (IRQ)

STAFF Sergeant Gene Korman, a Life support specialist, pours a chemical mixture into a mold to create a custom flight helmet for 1ST Lieutenant Lon Lease, a student pilot at the Undergraduate Pilot Training Facility. Base: Laughlin Air Force Base State: Texas (TX) Country: United States Of America (USA)

030621-M-2081S-013. Subject Operation/Series: IRAQI FREEDOM Base: Al Hillah Country: Iraq (IRQ) Scene Major Command Shown: 1 Bn, 4th Marines

030611-M-5882G-010. Subject Operation/Series: IRAQI FREEDOM Base: Al Hillah Country: Iraq (IRQ)

Guards read a newspaper at the greeting area for King Faisal's funeral in Jetta on May 27, 1971

A child lies in its mother's arms aboard a helicopter as a group of evacuees is flown to Freetown, Sierra Leone, during Operation Sharp Edge. The evacuees, who are fleeing the civil war in Liberia, were first processed aboard one of the ships of an amphibious ready group that is on station off the Liberian coast. Subject Operation/Series: SHARP EDGE Country: Atlantic Ocean (AOC)

Liberian citizens pass on the street outside the grounds of the U.S. Embassy during Operation Sharp Edge. The embassy is receiving personnel and logistic support from an amphibious ready group that is on station off the coast of Liberia. The ready group is also helping to evacuate civilians caught in Liberia's civil war. Subject Operation/Series: SHARP EDGE Base: Monrovia Country: Liberia (LBR)

Militia Fighter on Small Motorcycle, Helmand Province of Afghanistan

Soldiers from the Headquarter and Headquarters and Charlie Company, 100th Battalion, 442nd Infantry Regiment, U.S. Army Hawaii Reserve and French soldiers work together to evacuate locals on Huahine, French Polynesia, May 16, 2022. Marara 22 allows U.S. and partner forces to exercise humanitarian aid and disaster relief efforts and interoperability to prepare for and recover from the devastating effects of natural disasters.

Lt. Timothy Chinnock, from USNS Mercy (T-AH 19), examines an Indonesian infant�s feet while her mother looks on during a medical civic action program in support of Pacific Partnership 2010 in Tobelo, Indonesia, on July 15, 2010. Pacific Partnership 2010 is the fifth in a series of annual U.S. Pacific Fleet endeavors conducted in Indonesia as a disaster relief exercise to strengthen regional partnerships.

A close up view of the refugee camp near Goma. Subject Operation/Series: SUPPORT HOPE Base: Goma Country: Zaire (ZAR)

Border security force soldier with woman of Urusa Uri Jammu and Kashmir India NO MR 7-April-2008 Copyright: xHemangixNakwe/DinodiaxPhotox

040809-F-1351B-028. Base: Baghdad Country: Iraq (IRQ) Scene Major Command Shown: CENTCOM

DF-ST-88-10308. Base: Tamara Country: Honduras (HND)

Asia, Laos, young boy displays Vietnam War-era bomb casing

030415-M-7371B-006. Subject Operation/Series: IRAQI FREEDOM Base: Hasham Country: Iraq (IRQ) Scene Major Command Shown: 030415-M-7371B-001

During Operation Provide Relief, a congressional delegation toured a relief station as Somalian refugees unload supplies from a C-130 aircraft. Subject Operation/Series: PROVIDE RELIEF Country: Somalia (SOM)

030413-F-8362B-054. Subject Operation/Series: IRAQI FREEDOM Base: An Nasariyah State: Dhi Qar Country: Iraq (IRQ)

As Samawah, Camp Smitty, April 5, 2004. © Henry Westendorp / Royal Navy. The toy action. At the initiative of a female corporal of logistics service goods management of Her Majesteits Schiteful Marine der Nederlanden, a toy collection campaign in the Netherlands has started during SFIR2. This project has expanded in a reasonably rapid pace in the Netherlands and has a sea container a lot of toys. The toy is now divided by Sfir3 soldiers and brought to various schooltains.

Marines with Bravo Company, 1st Battalion, 23rd Marine Regiment, and volunteers from Samaritan's Purse work together to dristribute toys and books to Afghan Children, as a part of Operation Shoebox, in support of Operation Allies Welcome at Fort Pickett, Virginia on Jan. 1, 2022. The Department of Defense, through the U.S. Northern Command, and in support of the Department of Homeland Security, is providing transportation, temporary housing, medical screening, and general support for at least 50,000 Afghan evacuees at suitable facilities, in permanent or temporary structures, as quickly as possible. This initiative provides Afghan personnel essential support at secure locations outside Afghanistan.

U.S. Army Sgt. First Class Dan Calderon, team medic, purchases snacks for local children at a small market in the village of Woginara 2, East Sepik Province, Papua New Guinea on Sep. 13, 2022. The investigation team visited multiple areas across the mountainous East Sepik Province in hopes of recovering missing U.S. service members lost during World War II. DPAAs mission is to achieve the fullest possible accounting for missing and unaccounted-for U.S. personnel to their families and the nation.

040611-M-0706S-017. Base: Al Nasir Wa Al Slam State: Al Anbar Country: Iraq (IRQ) Scene Major Command Shown: 1/5, B Co.

As Samawah, Camp Smitty, April 5, 2004. © Henry Westendorp / Royal Navy. The toy action. At the initiative of a female corporal of logistics service goods management of Her Majesteits Schiteful Marine der Nederlanden, a toy collection campaign in the Netherlands has started during SFIR2. This project has expanded in a reasonably rapid pace in the Netherlands and has a sea container a lot of toys. The toy is now divided by Sfir3 soldiers and brought to various schooltains.

050821-A-6108G-263. Subject Operation/Series: IRAQI FREEDOM Base: Fallujah State: Al Anbar Country: Iraq (IRQ)

020505-F-1644L-059. Base: Markhanai Country: Afghanistan (AFG)

220128-N-YS140-001Fort Pickett, Va. (Jan. 28, 2022) An Afghan evacuee awaits his turn to board a bus headed to a local airport. Evacuees are departing Safe Haven Pickett and resettling in various communities across the United States. The Department of Defense, through U.S. Northern Command, and in support of the Department of Homeland Security, is providing transportation, temporary housing, medical screening, and general support for at least 50,000 Afghan evacuees at suitable facilities, in permanent or temporary structures, as quickly as possible. This initiative provides Afghan personnel essential support at secure locations outside Afghanistan. (U.S. Navy photo by Chief Mass Communication Specialist John Pearl)

040607-A-6414T-002. Subject Operation/Series: ENDURING FREEDOM Base: Sadrekheil Country: Afghanistan (AFG)

030419-M-5607A-022. Subject Operation/Series: IRAQI FREEDOM Country: Iraq (IRQ)

SMILING FACE-A young Iraqi girl shakes the hand of a U.S. Army soldier at the Neighborhood Activities Center in the Gazaliyah district, Baghdad, Iraq, Sept. 21, 2008. The soldier is assigned to the Green Platoon, Bravo Troop, 1st Squadron, 75th Cavalry, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division.

110223-N-4920H-078PATTAYA, Thailand (Feb. 23, 2011) Lt. Gregory Flores, assigned to Commander Amphibious Squadron (CPR) 11, paints the face of a student during a community service event at Bannok School. CPR-11 and the Essex Amphibious Ready Group are in Thailand after following its participation in Cobra Gold 2011.

GEN John R. Galvin, supreme allied commander, Europe and commander-in-chief, U.S. European Forces, speaks during a press conference. The general is answering questions regarding Operation Provide Comfort, an Allied effort to aid Kurdish refugees who fled the forces of Saddam Hussein in northern Iraq. Subject Operation/Series: PROVIDE COMFORT Base: Zakhu Country: Iraq (IRQ)

020508M-9902V-025. Country: Brunei Darussalam (BRN) Scene Major Command Shown: 3 MEF

110517-N-TU221-793MANILA, Philippines (May 17, 2011) Hospital Corpsman 3rd Class Jonathan Martin reads a book to orphans at Hospicio De San Jose Orphanage during a community service project with Sailors assigned to the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70), the Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Shiloh (CG 67) and members of the Philippine navy. Carl Vinson and Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 17 are underway in the U.S. 7th Fleet area of responsibility.

U.S. Marine Corps Cpl. Katie Lee, a supply chain and materiel management specialist with Marine Wing Support Squadron (MWSS) 171, Marine Aircraft Group 12, and native of New York, hugs two students from the Ban Prakaet School at Chanthaburi, Thailand, Feb. 23, 2024. Marines of MWSS-171 lent their engineering expertise to multilateral humanitarian efforts during Cobra Gold 24. Joint Exercise Cobra Gold is the largest joint exercise in mainland Asia and a concrete example of the strong alliance and strategic relationship between Thailand and the United States. This year is the 43rd iteration of the multilateral exercise, held from Feb. 27 to March 8, 2024. Marine Corps

020528-M-9902V-074. Country: Indonesia (IDN) Scene Major Command Shown: 3 MEF

Photo collection Service for army contacts Indonesia. DLC Lahat. Soldier Arie Romijnders from Eindhoven was stormed by the youth in Tebing Tinggi (South Sumatra), because he shared sweets and cigarettes. December 19, 1948. Indonesia, Dutch East Indies, Sumatra, Tebing Tinggi

040620-M-9382M-012. Base: Nagolan State: Kunar Country: Afghanistan (AFG)

Joint Task Force Bravo and Tradewinds medical team host a medical event including pediatrics, dental, and optometry for local community May 18, 2022 at Carmalita Government School in Orange Walk District in Belize for Tradewinds 2022. Tradewinds 2022 is a multinational exercise designed to expand the Caribbean regions capability to mitigate, plan for, and respond to crises; increase regional training capacity and interoperability; develop new and refine existing standard operating procedures (SOPs); enhance ability to defend exclusive economic zones (EEZ); and promote human rights and adherence to shared international norms and values; fully integrate women into defense, peace and security missions; and increase maritime domain awareness to deter illegal, unregulated and unreported fishing activities.

000504-N-5830P-012. Base: Camp Garcia State: Vieques Island Country: Puerto Rico (PRI) Scene Major Command Shown: U.S. Marshal Service

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