Honorable Mention Military Combat Experience
24 x 18
Dog Guarding Grenade Launcher
In 2008 I was assigned to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, stationed at Kandahar Air Field, Afghanistan. I went with a Special Operations Force group to their base at FOB Lane, Zabul Province to inspect a construction project. I noticed the base had a number of semi-wild dogs hanging about, hoping to be fed by kind-hearted troops. One day I turned the corner of a building and came upon the scene that is the subject of my painting – a dog seemingly guarding an abandoned Russian grenade launcher, complete with a U.S. supplied ammo box (I assume not for the launcher) and a fly swatter. The scene made me laugh – it seemed to sum up one of my observations of southern Afghanistan; dogs, abandoned Russian equipment, and flies.