Propellers whir in a desert outside Kandahar, Afghanistan, taking off and landing to transport Afghan soldiers to and from the battlefields of the almost 16-year war against the Taliban.

Waisuddin, 22, who, like many Afghans, goes by one name, serves as a medic when he’s not fighting on the front lines. From under the sleeve of his Afghan army uniform, a long burn scar stretches toward his wrist.

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