Spc. Stan Thomas, 21, of Palm Desert, Calif., a soldier with Company A, 2nd Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment, uses binoculars to scan for Taliban fighters from atop a mountain in the Narang valley, in Kunar province, Afghanistan. The soldiers were protecting a team during a two-day mission that directed air and artillery strikes on Taliban positions in the valley below. May 17, 2008. DREW BROWN/STARS AND STRIPES