Roman Genn, whose illustrations have long brightened the pages of National Review, embedded himself with the 3rd Battalion, 8th Marines, at Forward Operating Base Gulistan in Farah Province, central Afghanistan. Genn reports that the Marines “exhibited gallantry and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty by tolerating your humble doodler’s permanent bitching and whining.” The following drawings depict some of what he saw.

Mohamedeen, for some reason, thinks I owe him money. He is definitely Taliban. Cpl. John Radu and ’Terp — that’s “Interpreter” — Hakimi converse with locals in Gulistan over the course of a lovely morning stroll.

Flying “business class” from Helmand to Kandahar: Marines in a CH-53E helicopter firing “Ma Deuce.”

Cpl. Matt Ford, Forward Operating Base Gulistan’s chef de cuisine, divulges a piece of highly classified information: the recipe for “Cookie Ford’s Famous Steak Sauce.” Two tablespoons of C-4, three tablespoons of PETN, one teaspoon of RDX, and a light touch of tetryl. Or whatever the explosive-ordnance-disposal techs are willing to spare.

“I haven’t had my mail for a month and would certainly love to know where the guy responsible for this parks his car,” says explosives technician Gunnery Sergeant Matthew. He emphasizes that he does not want to blow up his fellow Marine but is going nuts without his cigarettes. “You gotta have a pretty sick sense of humor to stay sane here,” he says. “We blow things up for a living. That’s not normal.”

“It’s the third time that we have had to replace this window,” says business-development manager Sharif Ayoubi, inspecting the damage with real-estate agent Nasir Ayoubi after a suicide bombing in the Wazir Akbar Khan district of Kabul. “We are kind of used to it. Would you like to come in for a cup of chai and to look at some hot property? No? Ah, well. See you gentlemen at the next explosion.”

Sub-governor Quasim Khan of Farah Province, along with prosecutor Amir Mohammed and census officer Hashim Khan, visit FOB Gulistan. “Do not be fooled by the way we look,” Khan says. “If the president starts wearing Versace, so will we — our president, that is.” Also: “Naturally, we prefer single-malt Scotch, but we would settle for some Ukrainian ‘medicine.’ We didn’t beat the Soviets by staying sober.”