The Washington Post's Pamela Constable has an interesting article about how different Afghanistan and Iraq are from the perspective of helicopter crews:
Afghanistan is rugged, poor and sparsely populated.The Iraq combat theater is for the most part flat, comparatively developed and urban.
In Afghanistan, "our biggest threat is not Taliban or al-Qaeda shooting at us. It's the weather and the terrain," said Army Lt. Col. Mark Patterson, who commands Task Force Knighthawk. "It's a rugged, unpredictable environment that an agile, adaptable enemy can exploit."
[. . .]
There is danger in both theaters, the team members said, but it comes in distinct forms, degrees and disguises. Iraq's developed infrastructure includes power lines that can block low flight paths for helicopters, apartment complexes that can hide snipers, and long, paved highways that can be booby-trapped with remote-control explosives.
[. . .]
Afghanistan's trackless deserts and hillside villages mean troops and supplies must often be delivered to forward bases in Taliban territory by helicopter, exposing crews to rocket attacks as well as mercurial flying conditions. But it is easier to spot insurgent hideouts in the open desert, team members said, and the enemy's weapons here tend to be older, less powerful and far less accurate than those wielded by Iraqi insurgents.
There is more. Reading the whole article is worthwhile.
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