The first photo is an example of some of the homes in the region. I have not set foot in one, since I only leave the various bases by air. However, this seems fairly typical, homes made out of mud with mud walls surrounding it. Some of the home have a domed roof that looks pretty cool. I haven't had my camera out while we have passed over one yet.

This photo may be a little hard to see, but if you click on it it should enlarge a bit. As you can see, southern Afghanistan is a land of black and white, no in between. What I mean is that there is a desert surrounded by mountains covered in snow. Very little is able to grow, and only where it is cultivated by farmers, and still even then there is little that is green.