https://maxbecherer.com/ 2026-06-19 weekly 1.0 https://maxbecherer.com/about-max-becherer 2026-06-19 monthly 0.8 https://storage.neonsky.app/8nmkqw90/1775141968867_20260320_NPC_MaxBecherer018.jpg Image https://maxbecherer.com/contact-now 2026-06-19 monthly 0.8 https://maxbecherer.com/photo-editing-investigative-project-va-benefits-abuse 2026-06-19 monthly 0.8 https://storage.neonsky.app/8nmkqw90/images/8nmkqw90_8o0vi39v_yxshzu_BechererVAProject001.jpg Photo Editing-Investigative Project, VA benefits abuse | Max Becherer-Visual Journalist/Photo Editor View Photo Editing-Investigative Project, VA benefits abuse by Max Becherer-Visual Journalist/Photo Editor. https://storage.neonsky.app/8nmkqw90/images/8nmkqw90_8o0vi39v_1pc425_BechererVAProject002.jpg Photo Editing-Investigative Project, VA benefits abuse | Max Becherer-Visual Journalist/Photo Editor View Photo Editing-Investigative Project, VA benefits abuse by Max Becherer-Visual Journalist/Photo Editor. https://storage.neonsky.app/8nmkqw90/images/8nmkqw90_8o0vi39v_hf6lq8_BechererVAProject003-copy.jpg Photo Editing-Investigative Project, VA benefits abuse | Max Becherer-Visual Journalist/Photo Editor View Photo Editing-Investigative Project, VA benefits abuse by Max Becherer-Visual Journalist/Photo Editor. https://storage.neonsky.app/8nmkqw90/images/8nmkqw90_8o0vi39v_x53lwx_BechererVAProject004-copy.jpg Photo Editing-Investigative Project, VA benefits abuse | Max Becherer-Visual Journalist/Photo Editor View Photo Editing-Investigative Project, VA benefits abuse by Max Becherer-Visual Journalist/Photo Editor. https://storage.neonsky.app/8nmkqw90/images/8nmkqw90_8o0vi39v_eaogea_BechererVAProject005-copy.jpg Photo Editing-Investigative Project, VA benefits abuse | Max Becherer-Visual Journalist/Photo Editor View Photo Editing-Investigative Project, VA benefits abuse by Max Becherer-Visual Journalist/Photo Editor. https://storage.neonsky.app/8nmkqw90/images/8nmkqw90_8o0vi39v_w31p2b_BechererVAProject006-copy.jpg Photo Editing-Investigative Project, VA benefits abuse | Max Becherer-Visual Journalist/Photo Editor View Photo Editing-Investigative Project, VA benefits abuse by Max Becherer-Visual Journalist/Photo Editor. https://storage.neonsky.app/8nmkqw90/images/8nmkqw90_8o0vi39v_s0qcqm_BechererVAProject007-copy.jpg Photo Editing-Investigative Project, VA benefits abuse | Max Becherer-Visual Journalist/Photo Editor View Photo Editing-Investigative Project, VA benefits abuse by Max Becherer-Visual Journalist/Photo Editor. https://storage.neonsky.app/8nmkqw90/images/8nmkqw90_8o0vi39v_hrwdzd_BechererVAProject008-copy.jpg Photo Editing-Investigative Project, VA benefits abuse | Max Becherer-Visual Journalist/Photo Editor View Photo Editing-Investigative Project, VA benefits abuse by Max Becherer-Visual Journalist/Photo Editor. https://storage.neonsky.app/8nmkqw90/images/8nmkqw90_8o0vi39v_0wn5kg_BechererVAProject009-copy.jpg Photo Editing-Investigative Project, VA benefits abuse | Max Becherer-Visual Journalist/Photo Editor View Photo Editing-Investigative Project, VA benefits abuse by Max Becherer-Visual Journalist/Photo Editor. https://storage.neonsky.app/8nmkqw90/images/8nmkqw90_8o0vi39v_pdjhnd_BechererVAProject010-copy.jpg Photo Editing-Investigative Project, VA benefits abuse | Max Becherer-Visual Journalist/Photo Editor View Photo Editing-Investigative Project, VA benefits abuse by Max Becherer-Visual Journalist/Photo Editor. https://storage.neonsky.app/8nmkqw90/images/8nmkqw90_8o0vi39v_b2zdhl_BechererVAProject011-copy.jpg Photo Editing-Investigative Project, VA benefits abuse | Max Becherer-Visual Journalist/Photo Editor View Photo Editing-Investigative Project, VA benefits abuse by Max Becherer-Visual Journalist/Photo Editor. https://storage.neonsky.app/8nmkqw90/images/8nmkqw90_8o0vi39v_yhjiw5_BechererVAProject012-copy.jpg Photo Editing-Investigative Project, VA benefits abuse | Max Becherer-Visual Journalist/Photo Editor View Photo Editing-Investigative Project, VA benefits abuse by Max Becherer-Visual Journalist/Photo Editor. https://storage.neonsky.app/8nmkqw90/images/8nmkqw90_8o0vi39v_1h8ocn_BechererVAProject013-copy.jpg Photo Editing-Investigative Project, VA benefits abuse | Max Becherer-Visual Journalist/Photo Editor View Photo Editing-Investigative Project, VA benefits abuse by Max Becherer-Visual Journalist/Photo Editor. https://storage.neonsky.app/8nmkqw90/images/8nmkqw90_8o0vi39v_pe1cou_BechererVAProject014-copy.jpg Photo Editing-Investigative Project, VA benefits abuse | Max Becherer-Visual Journalist/Photo Editor View Photo Editing-Investigative Project, VA benefits abuse by Max Becherer-Visual Journalist/Photo Editor. https://maxbecherer.com/historic-louisiana-flooding 2026-06-19 monthly 0.8 https://maxbecherer.com/new-orleans 2026-06-19 monthly 0.8 https://cdn.neonsky.app/50aa5e49ea29f/images/NOchasesecondline.jpg The Big 6 Brass Band leads a second line past Dooky Chase restaurant to celebrate the life and legacy of the legendary New Orleans chef Leah Chase in New Orleans, La. Monday, June 3, 2019. The Big 6 Brass Band leads a second line past Dooky Chase restaurant to celebrate the life and legacy of the legendary New Orleans chef Leah Chase in New Orleans, La. Monday, June 3, 2019. https://cdn.neonsky.app/50aa5e49ea29f/images/NOdrjohnsecondline0608190009.jpg NO.drjohnsecondline.060819.0009.JPG Trumpeter James Andrews leads a second line for Malcolm "Dr. John" Rebennack, who died Thursday at age 77, as it pauses in front of a mural of Allen Toussaint on Claiborne Ave. in the Treme in New Orleans, La. Friday, June 7, 2019. https://cdn.neonsky.app/50aa5e49ea29f/images/NOchasesecondline0604190021.jpg NO.chasesecondline.060419.0021.JPG The Big 6 Brass Band leads a second line past Dooky Chase restaurant to celebrate the life and legacy of the legendary New Orleans chef Leah Chase in New Orleans, La. Monday, June 3, 2019. https://cdn.neonsky.app/50aa5e49ea29f/images/NOchasesecondline0604190012.jpg NO.chasesecondline.060419.0012.JPG The Big 6 Brass Band leads a second line past Dooky Chase restaurant to celebrate the life and legacy of the legendary New Orleans chef Leah Chase in New Orleans, La. Monday, June 3, 2019. https://cdn.neonsky.app/50aa5e49ea29f/images/NObartholomewfuneral0709190001.jpg NO.bartholomewfuneral.070919.0001.JPG Deacon John Moore touches his friend for the last time during the viewing of Dave Bartholomew at St. Gabriel the Archangel Church in New Orleans, La. Monday, July 8, 2019. The life of David Bartholomew, a trumpeter, bandleader, producer, arranger, composer and star-maker of Fats Domino, Lloyd Price and many other New Orleans talents, was celebrated with prayers, tributes, brass bands and dancing. He died at 100 years of age on June 23. https://cdn.neonsky.app/50aa5e49ea29f/images/Flambo.jpg A flambeaux leads The Knights of Babylon as they roll on the Uptown parade route with 12 Lieutenants on horseback, and 26 floats with 305 knights on Thursday, Feb. 8, 2018. A flambeaux leads The Knights of Babylon as they roll on the Uptown parade route with 12 Lieutenants on horseback, and 26 floats with 305 knights on Thursday, Feb. 8, 2018. https://cdn.neonsky.app/50aa5e49ea29f/images/NOskullbones0306190005.jpg NO.skullbones.030619.0005.JPG A member of the North Side Skull and Bones Gang emerges from a home after waking up its residents in Treme on Mardi Gras morning in New Orleans, La. Tuesday, March 5, 2019. The gang is celebrating its 200th year. https://cdn.neonsky.app/50aa5e49ea29f/images/NOcentralcityindians021418.jpg Spyboy Samual Fields of the Uptown Warriors holds a SKS, a semi-automatic carbine, with an extended bayonet as he looks for other Indians to challenge with tribal dances and chants in Central City on Mardi Gras day in New Orleans, La., Tuesday, Feb. 13, 2018. Mardi Gras Indian tribes who wear hand-made one of a kind costumes meet other tribes and perform ritual dances and chants all over the city on Mardi Gras Day. Spyboy Samual Fields of the Uptown Warriors holds a SKS, a semi-automatic carbine, with an extended bayonet as he looks for other Indians to challenge with tribal dances and chants in Central City on Mardi Gras day in New Orleans, La., Tuesday, Feb. 13, 2018. Mardi Gras Indian tribes who wear hand-made one of a kind costumes meet other tribes and perform ritual dances and chants all over the city on Mardi Gras Day. https://cdn.neonsky.app/50aa5e49ea29f/images/noknightofchaos020920180005.jpg no.knightofchaos.02092018.0005.JPG The Knights of Chaos roll on the Uptown route with a 16-float parade of 225 men throwing cards, cups and doubloons to parade-goers in New Orleans, La., on Thursday, Feb. 8, 2018. https://cdn.neonsky.app/50aa5e49ea29f/images/nobabylon020920180006.jpg no.babylon.02092018.0006.JPG Drew Edwards, age 3, looks for beads as The Knights of Babylon roll on the Uptown parade route with 12 Lieutenants on horseback, and 26 floats with 305 knights on Thursday, Feb. 8, 2018. https://cdn.neonsky.app/50aa5e49ea29f/images/KATRINA-013.jpg Katrina Changing City NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA. Marquell Williams, age 12, in pink at left, and other neighborhood kids who spend their time at the Running Bear Boxing club watch as Eric Patterson, age 28, washes newborn pit bull puppies that he has bred to sell in New Orleans, Friday, Aug. 14, 2015. The boxing club is run by a resident of the Lower 9th Ward to keep kids out of trouble. (AP Photo/Max Becherer) https://cdn.neonsky.app/50aa5e49ea29f/images/07122015_MISSUSAWIN__Becherer_009.jpg Miss Oklahoma Wins Miss USA BATON ROUGE, LOUISIANA. Miss Oklahoma reacts as she wins the 2015 Miss USA contest at The Baton Rouge River Center in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The pageant is especially controversial this year after co-owner of Miss Universe, Donald Trump, made disparaging remarks about Mexican immigrants. (Max Becherer/Polaris Images) https://cdn.neonsky.app/50aa5e49ea29f/images/06282015_Marriage__Becherer_003.jpg First Gay Couple to Legally Wed NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA. Earl Benjamin, left, and Michael Robinson, show their marriage certificate and kiss in the New Orleans Parish Civil District Court building after becoming the first legally gay couple to wed in New Orleans, Louisiana. Robinson and Benjamin had been together for almost 14 years before exchanging vows in the civil ceremony. (Max Becherer/Polaris) https://cdn.neonsky.app/50aa5e49ea29f/images/KATRINA-018.jpg Katrina Changing City NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA. Beer holding visitors enjoy the setting sun on Jackson Square at the heart of the French Quarter in New Orleans, Saturday, Aug. 15, 2015. Katrina seemed like the final blow to a city long in decline, suffering from urban crime, white flight, the vagaries of the energy market and gross mismanagement. Roughly 80 percent of the city was under water. Hundreds of people drowned inside their homes, their bodies floating in the muck. Hospitals and police were overwhelmed. The city emptied.Now, as people describe the city’s resurgence, they reach for metaphors that verge on the Biblical: a resurrection, an economic and cultural renaissance, a rebirth. (AP Photo/Max Becherer) https://maxbecherer.com/global-news-events 2026-06-19 monthly 0.8 https://maxbecherer.com/emerald-miners 2026-06-19 monthly 0.8 https://cdn.neonsky.app/50aa5e49ea29f/images/10242007_Becherer_Emeralds001.jpg OCTOBER 25, 2007- KHENJ, AFGHANISTAN Moulana Latife, 45, prays on an outstretched jacket at the mouth of his mine in the mountains overlooking the Panjshir Valley village of Khenj, Afghanistan on Thursday October 25, 2007. Latife has been working in the mines since he was 16 and fought with Ahmed Shah Massoud against the Russians in the 1980s and the Taliban after that. Most of the men at the times are deeply independent and conservative and trying to make a living from the back breaking work. OCTOBER 25, 2007- KHENJ, AFGHANISTAN Moulana Latife, 45, prays on an outstretched jacket at the mouth of his mine in the mountains overlooking the Panjshir Valley village of Khenj, Afghanistan on Thursday October 25, 2007. Latife has been working in the mines since he was 16 and fought with Ahmed Shah Massoud against the Russians in the 1980s and the Taliban after that. Most of the men at the times are deeply independent and conservative and trying to make a living from the back breaking work. https://cdn.neonsky.app/50aa5e49ea29f/images/10242007_Becherer_Emeralds002.jpg OCTOBER 24, 2007- KHENJ, AFGHANISTAN Muhammad Zaid, 19, uses a Swiss jack hammer to make holes in the rock to place explosive in the mountains over the Panjshir Valley village of Khenj, Afghanistan on Wednesday, October 24, 2007. Zaid who is recently married with a child has only been been working in the mines with his father for a few months, but having the strongest back means he works the bucking jackhammer. With his father's help Zaid found a promising vein in the rock and has started his own mine. Zaid's most successful find has been from an emerald found on the ground in the middle of the night after he found thieves plundering his mine. OCTOBER 24, 2007- KHENJ, AFGHANISTAN Muhammad Zaid, 19, uses a Swiss jack hammer to make holes in the rock to place explosive in the mountains over the Panjshir Valley village of Khenj, Afghanistan on Wednesday, October 24, 2007. Zaid who is recently married with a child has only been been working in the mines with his father for a few months, but having the strongest back means he works the bucking jackhammer. With his father's help Zaid found a promising vein in the rock and has started his own mine. Zaid's most successful find has been from an emerald found on the ground in the middle of the night after he found thieves plundering his mine. https://cdn.neonsky.app/50aa5e49ea29f/images/10242007_Becherer_Emeralds003.jpg OCTOBER 24, 2007- KHENJ, AFGHANISTAN Detonated dynamite throws rock and dust shooting out of an emerald mine on the rock face of the mountains above the Panjshir Valley village of Khenj, Afghanistan on Wednesday, October 24, 2007. Powdered explosive are shoved into holes that are drilled into the rock with a wood pole. A detonator is then inserted with a fuse and ignited. The miners blast rock as they follow promising veins looking for prized emeralds. The blast can be heard all the way to the village below and felt in the rocks of the mountain as miners work in adjacent mines. OCTOBER 24, 2007- KHENJ, AFGHANISTAN Detonated dynamite throws rock and dust shooting out of an emerald mine on the rock face of the mountains above the Panjshir Valley village of Khenj, Afghanistan on Wednesday, October 24, 2007. Powdered explosive are shoved into holes that are drilled into the rock with a wood pole. A detonator is then inserted with a fuse and ignited. The miners blast rock as they follow promising veins looking for prized emeralds. The blast can be heard all the way to the village below and felt in the rocks of the mountain as miners work in adjacent mines. https://cdn.neonsky.app/50aa5e49ea29f/images/10242007_Becherer_Emeralds004.jpg OCTOBER 25, 2007- KHENJ, AFGHANISTAN Ahmad Lais Amin, 22, right, looks for signs of emerald in a handful of dirt he has excavated as, Aziz, a miner from a nearby cave holds the light and looks for signs of success in the slope of the Hindu Kush mountains towering over the Panjshir Valley near the village of Khenj, in Afghanistan on Thursday October 25, 2007. Miners sometimes drop in on promising excavations to snoop for better locations or to watch a big find. OCTOBER 25, 2007- KHENJ, AFGHANISTAN Ahmad Lais Amin, 22, right, looks for signs of emerald in a handful of dirt he has excavated as, Aziz, a miner from a nearby cave holds the light and looks for signs of success in the slope of the Hindu Kush mountains towering over the Panjshir Valley near the village of Khenj, in Afghanistan on Thursday October 25, 2007. Miners sometimes drop in on promising excavations to snoop for better locations or to watch a big find. https://cdn.neonsky.app/50aa5e49ea29f/images/10242007_Becherer_Emeralds005.jpg OCTOBER 25, 2007- KHENJ, AFGHANISTAN Ahmad Jawead, 22, center, works with the mechanic of the mountain, Mohammad Israar, 46, left, and his hired hand Rahimullah, 27, as they try to start a Chinese made motor that creates compressed air for his air pressure operated rock drill in the mountains over the Panjshir Valley village of Khenj, Afghanistan on Thursday October 25, 2007. The motor has a hand crank but they hope by heating up the carburetor they can help to prime it to start. OCTOBER 25, 2007- KHENJ, AFGHANISTAN Ahmad Jawead, 22, center, works with the mechanic of the mountain, Mohammad Israar, 46, left, and his hired hand Rahimullah, 27, as they try to start a Chinese made motor that creates compressed air for his air pressure operated rock drill in the mountains over the Panjshir Valley village of Khenj, Afghanistan on Thursday October 25, 2007. The motor has a hand crank but they hope by heating up the carburetor they can help to prime it to start. https://cdn.neonsky.app/50aa5e49ea29f/images/10242007_Becherer_Emeralds006.jpg OCTOBER 24, 2007- KHENJ, AFGHANISTAN With excitement Ahmad Jawead, 22, shovels and picks his way through rock after having blasted the rock in his 60-meter deep mine looking for emeralds in the mountains over the Panjshir Valley village of Khenj, Afghanistan on Wednesday, October 24, 2007. Jawead has been working his mine for seven months straight looking for an emerald large enough to buy his way out of Afghanistan. After declaring his desire to leave the country and asking for help his family forbid him to leave. Now he blasts the rock hoping to fund his own way out of the country. OCTOBER 24, 2007- KHENJ, AFGHANISTAN With excitement Ahmad Jawead, 22, shovels and picks his way through rock after having blasted the rock in his 60-meter deep mine looking for emeralds in the mountains over the Panjshir Valley village of Khenj, Afghanistan on Wednesday, October 24, 2007. Jawead has been working his mine for seven months straight looking for an emerald large enough to buy his way out of Afghanistan. After declaring his desire to leave the country and asking for help his family forbid him to leave. Now he blasts the rock hoping to fund his own way out of the country. https://cdn.neonsky.app/50aa5e49ea29f/images/10242007_Becherer_Emeralds007.jpg OCTOBER 24, 2007- KHENJ, AFGHANISTAN An emerald worker is perched on a rock next to his generator and compressor that operate his air pressure driven rock drill as the morning sun creeps over the Western face of the mountain above the Panjshir Valley village of Khenj, Afghanistan on Wednesday, October 24, 2007. The river of mine tailings can been seen in the mountain in the background. The miners' work is of environmental concern and the miners often also extract and dump valuable metals that exist around the emerald according to Mohamad Ibrahim, the Minister of the Mines and Industry Ministry in Kabul. OCTOBER 24, 2007- KHENJ, AFGHANISTAN An emerald worker is perched on a rock next to his generator and compressor that operate his air pressure driven rock drill as the morning sun creeps over the Western face of the mountain above the Panjshir Valley village of Khenj, Afghanistan on Wednesday, October 24, 2007. The river of mine tailings can been seen in the mountain in the background. The miners' work is of environmental concern and the miners often also extract and dump valuable metals that exist around the emerald according to Mohamad Ibrahim, the Minister of the Mines and Industry Ministry in Kabul. https://cdn.neonsky.app/50aa5e49ea29f/images/10242007_Becherer_Emeralds008.jpg OCTOBER 24, 2007- KHENJ, AFGHANISTAN With the Panjshir Valley village of Khenj visible thousands of feet below, emerald miners reinforce the roof of their mountainside tent home in Panjshir province, Afghanistan on Wednesday, October 24, 2007. The miners haul water from an abandoned mine that now is full of spring water but have to haul all other provisions from the village below. Gas stoves heat water for washing and gas lamps provide light for the mines and tents. Generators are reserved to operate jack hammers and air compressors for mining drills. OCTOBER 24, 2007- KHENJ, AFGHANISTAN With the Panjshir Valley village of Khenj visible thousands of feet below, emerald miners reinforce the roof of their mountainside tent home in Panjshir province, Afghanistan on Wednesday, October 24, 2007. The miners haul water from an abandoned mine that now is full of spring water but have to haul all other provisions from the village below. Gas stoves heat water for washing and gas lamps provide light for the mines and tents. Generators are reserved to operate jack hammers and air compressors for mining drills. https://cdn.neonsky.app/50aa5e49ea29f/images/10242007_Becherer_Emeralds009.jpg OCTOBER 24, 2007- KHENJ, AFGHANISTAN Having delivered a lunch of rice and lamb meat, Rahimullah, 27, scales the sheer rock face back to the stone cabin where he will clean up the pots and pans from the meal before returning to continue mining on mountains over the Panjshir Valley village of Khenj, Afghanistan on Wednesday, October 24, 2007. OCTOBER 24, 2007- KHENJ, AFGHANISTAN Having delivered a lunch of rice and lamb meat, Rahimullah, 27, scales the sheer rock face back to the stone cabin where he will clean up the pots and pans from the meal before returning to continue mining on mountains over the Panjshir Valley village of Khenj, Afghanistan on Wednesday, October 24, 2007. https://cdn.neonsky.app/50aa5e49ea29f/images/10242007_Becherer_Emeralds010.jpg OCTOBER 24, 2007- KHENJ, AFGHANISTAN Ahmad Jawead, 22, left, Rahimullah, 27, center, and Burhan Amin, 26, right, share a breakfast of cream, bread, jam and tea as they make the day's bread on a gas burner in their stone one-room home in the mountains next to the mine they work above the Panjshir Valley village of Khenj, Afghanistan on Wednesday, October 24, 2007. Ahmad Jawead and Burhan Amin are cousins and hire Rahimullah to help with the work of the mines. Teams of five to ten men, sometimes friends or family, work as partners in the mines. OCTOBER 24, 2007- KHENJ, AFGHANISTAN Ahmad Jawead, 22, left, Rahimullah, 27, center, and Burhan Amin, 26, right, share a breakfast of cream, bread, jam and tea as they make the day's bread on a gas burner in their stone one-room home in the mountains next to the mine they work above the Panjshir Valley village of Khenj, Afghanistan on Wednesday, October 24, 2007. Ahmad Jawead and Burhan Amin are cousins and hire Rahimullah to help with the work of the mines. Teams of five to ten men, sometimes friends or family, work as partners in the mines. https://cdn.neonsky.app/50aa5e49ea29f/images/10242007_Becherer_Emeralds011.jpg OCTOBER 24, 2007- KHENJ, AFGHANISTAN An emerald miner uses a hand held mirror with an image of an model from India after washing himself in the morning in the emerald mines above Khenj, Afghanistan on Wednesday, October 24, 2007. The labor of the mines is conducted by young men who spend a week to seven months on the side of the mountains where no women work. OCTOBER 24, 2007- KHENJ, AFGHANISTAN An emerald miner uses a hand held mirror with an image of an model from India after washing himself in the morning in the emerald mines above Khenj, Afghanistan on Wednesday, October 24, 2007. The labor of the mines is conducted by young men who spend a week to seven months on the side of the mountains where no women work. https://cdn.neonsky.app/50aa5e49ea29f/images/10242007_Becherer_Emeralds012.jpg OCTOBER 25, 2007- KHENJ, AFGHANISTAN After setting off dynamite charges in the mine Rahimullah, 27, takes a smoke break as he waits for the dust to clear the shaft of a mineral mine on the slope of the Hindu Kush mountains over the Panjshir Valley near the village of Khenj, in Afghanistan on Thursday, October 25, 2007. Rahimullah is a hired hand who works for a team of young men who blast and drill holes in the mountains looking for emeralds and precious stones. The young men who work the mines were boys when the Taliban fell six years ago. The mines were a way to fund the jehad most of their father’s participated in but now the young men dig, hoping to find a rock large enough to feed their families or to give them enough money to escape the work of the mines. OCTOBER 25, 2007- KHENJ, AFGHANISTAN After setting off dynamite charges in the mine Rahimullah, 27, takes a smoke break as he waits for the dust to clear the shaft of a mineral mine on the slope of the Hindu Kush mountains over the Panjshir Valley near the village of Khenj, in Afghanistan on Thursday, October 25, 2007. Rahimullah is a hired hand who works for a team of young men who blast and drill holes in the mountains looking for emeralds and precious stones. The young men who work the mines were boys when the Taliban fell six years ago. The mines were a way to fund the jehad most of their father’s participated in but now the young men dig, hoping to find a rock large enough to feed their families or to give them enough money to escape the work of the mines. https://cdn.neonsky.app/50aa5e49ea29f/images/10242007_Becherer_Emeralds013.jpg OCTOBER 26, 2007- KHENJ, AFGHANISTAN Having returned to the village of Khenj with a week's worth of emeralds a buyers looks at a group of emeralds being sold for $3,500 in the village of Khenj, Afghanistan on Friday, October 26, 2007. Emeralds sold in the village usually go for double that price in town and several times that, depending on their quality, outside of the country. OCTOBER 26, 2007- KHENJ, AFGHANISTAN Having returned to the village of Khenj with a week's worth of emeralds a buyers looks at a group of emeralds being sold for $3,500 in the village of Khenj, Afghanistan on Friday, October 26, 2007. Emeralds sold in the village usually go for double that price in town and several times that, depending on their quality, outside of the country. https://cdn.neonsky.app/50aa5e49ea29f/images/10242007_Becherer_Emeralds014.jpg OCTOBER 25, 2007- KHENJ, AFGHANISTAN Burhan Amin, 26, prays in the one-room stone house he shares with the rest of his team of miners on the slopes of the Hindu Kush mountains towering over the Panjshir Valley near the village of Khenj, in Afghanistan on Thursday October 25, 2007. Amin, 26, has a kidney ailment that does not allow him to work, brought on from years of battling the mountain for emeralds. Instead of manning the rock drill, Amin prepares the meals of rice, bread, lamb meat and tea for grime-covered miners. Even with this light duty, he sometimes feels too ill to work. “Most of the time I am sick. Those days when I am not feeling well, because there is the mountain and it is the work of the mountain. If we work from the morning till night, you will know how much you get tired,” Amin said. OCTOBER 25, 2007- KHENJ, AFGHANISTAN Burhan Amin, 26, prays in the one-room stone house he shares with the rest of his team of miners on the slopes of the Hindu Kush mountains towering over the Panjshir Valley near the village of Khenj, in Afghanistan on Thursday October 25, 2007. Amin, 26, has a kidney ailment that does not allow him to work, brought on from years of battling the mountain for emeralds. Instead of manning the rock drill, Amin prepares the meals of rice, bread, lamb meat and tea for grime-covered miners. Even with this light duty, he sometimes feels too ill to work. “Most of the time I am sick. Those days when I am not feeling well, because there is the mountain and it is the work of the mountain. If we work from the morning till night, you will know how much you get tired,” Amin said. https://cdn.neonsky.app/50aa5e49ea29f/images/10242007_Becherer_Emeralds015.jpg OCTOBER 26, 2007- KHENJ, AFGHANISTAN Emerald buyers from Kabul, Hiatullah, left, and Gulalam, right, look at a pocketful of emeralds brought down the mountain in the village of Khenj, Afghanistan on Friday, October 26, 2007. Most miners keep their emeralds in a plastic package. Usually the partners in a mine will weigh, count, then wrap the emeralds they find, signing the wrapping to insure they all agree on what was found. Then the package is opened again when it reaches the village and is sold. OCTOBER 26, 2007- KHENJ, AFGHANISTAN Emerald buyers from Kabul, Hiatullah, left, and Gulalam, right, look at a pocketful of emeralds brought down the mountain in the village of Khenj, Afghanistan on Friday, October 26, 2007. Most miners keep their emeralds in a plastic package. Usually the partners in a mine will weigh, count, then wrap the emeralds they find, signing the wrapping to insure they all agree on what was found. Then the package is opened again when it reaches the village and is sold. https://maxbecherer.com/afghanistan:-the-longest-war 2026-06-19 monthly 0.8 https://cdn.neonsky.app/50aa5e49ea29f/images/01102013_Becherer_Afghanwar011.jpg War in Afghanistan NOVEMBER 8, 2007-KABUL, AFGHANISTAN Rows of Afghan dignitaries, military, police and mourners pay last respects to six parliamentarians including opposition leader Mustafa Kazimi, during a state funeral near the Darulaman Palace, in background, in Kabul, Afghanistan on Thursday November 8, 2007. The lawmakers and six of their bodyguards, who were also killed in the attack, were buried together in a place of honor near the location of a planned new parliament building. Thousands attended the official ceremony during the second of three national days of mourning for the 52 killed in a suicide attack in Baghlan province on Tuesday, November 6, 2007. https://cdn.neonsky.app/50aa5e49ea29f/images/01102013_Becherer_Afghanwar030.jpg War in Afghanistan OCTOBER 26, 2007- KHENJ, AFGHANISTAN Burhan Amin, 26, shines a light from the back of a cigarette lighter that projects the image of Osama bin Laden that he purchased from a shop in the village of Khenj, Afghanistan on Friday, October 26, 2007. Ten years after the September 11th attack on the United States bin Laden was killed in Pakistan. https://cdn.neonsky.app/50aa5e49ea29f/images/01102013_Becherer_Afghanwar021.jpg War in Afghanistan MAY 20, 2010- SINGESAR, AFGHANISTAN American soldiers question a man who walked up on the American patrol. The American patrol received sniper fire all day causing them to look for scouts who might be telling the Taliban of their location during the patrol. The 2nd Battalion, 1st Infantry Regiment, A Company, operating out of Combat Outpost Lakhokhel in the Zhair district of Kandahar province searched several compounds and patrolled the village of Singesar and the surrounding area to talk to people of interest and to disrupt the Taliban operations closer to the main highway from Kandahar to Helmand province. https://cdn.neonsky.app/50aa5e49ea29f/images/01102013_Becherer_Afghanwar018.jpg War in Afghanistan JUNE 11, 2010- MARJAH, AFGHANISTAN Marines of the first platoon of Lima company of the 3rd Battalion, 6th Marines, shouts out the location of Taliban shooting at his fire team in northern Marjah. The Marines took cover in canals and returned fire. The Taliban fled on motorbikes 15 minutes after shooting at the Marines. Four months after a major offensive to secure Marjah, the 3rd battalion, 6th Marines continue to face resistance as they attempt to win over the population in the rural area, which is a major poppy production center. https://cdn.neonsky.app/50aa5e49ea29f/images/01102013_Becherer_Afghanwar028.jpg War in Afghanistan APRIL 3, 2009- BAGRAM, AFGHANISTAN The body of Captain Petre Tiberius is unloaded from a helicopter by fellow Romanian soldiers and American medical personnel at Bagram Air Field in Afghanistan on April 3, 2009. The defense ministry in Bucharest, Romania announced Captain Petre Tiberius was killed in crossfire while leading a mission on Friday to support ISAF forces who had come under attack. Tiberius was transported by helicopter to a forward surgical hospital but died in transit. Romania has lost 10 soldiers in Afghanistan. https://cdn.neonsky.app/50aa5e49ea29f/images/01182013_Becherer_IraqMedical027.jpg EPTEMBER 1, 2005- LANDSTUHL, GERMANY After receiving a Purple Heart from Major General McCarthy a wounded soldier recounts the attack that resulted in his wounds in Afghanistan at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany. The quick medical transportation system is efficient at treating physical wounds but the mental trauma suffered will take longer to treat. EPTEMBER 1, 2005- LANDSTUHL, GERMANY After receiving a Purple Heart from Major General McCarthy a wounded soldier recounts the attack that resulted in his wounds in Afghanistan at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany. The quick medical transportation system is efficient at treating physical wounds but the mental trauma suffered will take longer to treat. https://cdn.neonsky.app/50aa5e49ea29f/images/01182013_Becherer_Portraits004.jpg KABUL, AFGHANISTAN A young woman waits for an appointment at the French Medical Institute for Children in Kabul, Afghanistan on June 20, 2010. As well as offering some of the most advanced technology, the hospital offers advanced care for young women in Kabul. KABUL, AFGHANISTAN A young woman waits for an appointment at the French Medical Institute for Children in Kabul, Afghanistan on June 20, 2010. As well as offering some of the most advanced technology, the hospital offers advanced care for young women in Kabul. https://cdn.neonsky.app/50aa5e49ea29f/images/01102013_Becherer_Afghanwar012.jpg War in Afghanistan APRIL 27, 2010- KABUL, AFGHANISTAN Patients practice walking with prosthetics received from the Red Cross along with other victims of mine blasts at the ICRC rehabilitation clinic in Kabul, Afghanistan on April 27, 2010. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) manages six physical rehabilitation centers across Afghanistan and maintains a workshop manufacturing prosthetic/orthotic limbs for war victims and those with other disabilities. The doors to the clinic are open to all Afghans who are wounded for any reason. https://cdn.neonsky.app/50aa5e49ea29f/images/01102013_Becherer_Afghanwar024.jpg War in Afghanistan NOVEMBER 3, 2009- KANDAHAR, AFGHANISTAN An MQ-9 Reaper stands ready and fully armed on the flight line of Kandahar Air Field with four AGM-114 Hellfire missiles, one GBU-12 Paveway II, and one GBU-38 Joint Direct Attack munitions mounted on its wings. The United States Air Force's 62nd Expeditionary Reconnaissance Squadron launches the MQ-9 Reaper Unmanned Aircraft or drone, from Kandahar Air Field. The U.S. Air Force currently fields 10 of the $13 million aircraft which can be armed with a variety of guided bombs. The Reaper is controlled by a flight team in Kandahar for take-off and landings but is controlled for most of its 12 to 13 hour missions from a base in Nevada operated by the 42nd Attack Squadron. https://cdn.neonsky.app/50aa5e49ea29f/images/01102013_Becherer_Afghanwar025.jpg War in Afghanistan NOVEMBER 3, 2009- KANDAHAR, AFGHANISTAN Pilots with the United States Air Force's 62nd Expeditionary Reconnaissance Squadron prepare to launch a MQ-1 Predator from the Kandahar Air Field from a trailer equipped with a full array of piloting computers and readouts on the flight line. The U.S. Air Force currently fields 130 of the $3 million aircraft which can be armed with two laser-guided AGM-114 Hellfire missiles. https://cdn.neonsky.app/50aa5e49ea29f/images/01102013_Becherer_Afghanwar014.jpg War in Afghanistan OCTOBER 21, 2007-KABUL, AFGHANISTAN A DynCorp employee, center, monitors an Afghan police rifle course at a military range east of Kabul on Sunday October 21, 2007. The range is part of a Tactical Training Program (TTP) that is a follow-up and refresher to the first 8-week training the police received. The TTP gives Afghan police training in weapons, tactical movement as a team and classroom learning including criminal investigation training. Most of the classes are run by Afghan police teachers with mentoring and assistance by DynCorp employees. https://cdn.neonsky.app/50aa5e49ea29f/images/01102013_Becherer_Afghanwar022.jpg War in Afghanistan MAY 20, 2010- SINGESAR, AFGHANISTAN American soldiers stagger into Combat Outpost Lakhokhel after a long day of battling the Taliban during a search of several compounds near the village of Singesar. The Americans suffered no casualties from enemy fire but did have several soldiers suffer heat exhaustion during a firefight. The 2nd Battalion, 1st Infantry Regiment, A Company operating out of Combat Outpost Lakhokhel in the Zhair district of Kandahar province searched several compounds and patrolled the village of Singesar and the surrounding area to talk to people and disrupt the Taliban operations closer to the main highway from Kandahar to Helmand province. https://cdn.neonsky.app/50aa5e49ea29f/images/01102013_Becherer_Afghanwar027.jpg War in Afghanistan NOVEMBER 2, 2010- TALUKAN, AFGHANISTAN Sergeant Bryan Hulit, right, reads while fellow soldiers get some sleep on an Afghan bed they found in the compound they took over during their clearing operations in the village of Talukan. The 1st Battalion, 187th Infantry Regiment, Third Brigade Combat Team, of the 101st Airborne Division started to clear the roads and houses of the village of Talukan in Pajwai district of Kandahar. The soldiers have found as many as 9 Improvised Explosive Devices all around the main market and roads leading into the village. https://cdn.neonsky.app/50aa5e49ea29f/images/BechererPortfolio022.jpg Kill Team Leader KANDAHAR, AFGHANISTAN. "Kill Team" leader Staff Sgt. Calvin Gibbs walks through a poppy field during a patrol to investigate one of the killings of an Afgha civilian he was connected to. https://cdn.neonsky.app/50aa5e49ea29f/images/01102013_Becherer_AfghanWar019.jpg War in Afghanistan MAY 20, 2010- SINGESAR, AFGHANISTAN An American attack helicopter fires a missile at a Taliban position. The Taliban fired at the helicopter, and soldiers on the ground took sniper fire during their search. The 2nd Battalion, 1st Infantry Regiment, A Company operating out of Combat Outpost Lakhokhel in the Zhair district of Kandahar province searched several compounds and patrolled the village of Singesar and the surrounding area to talk to people and disrupt the Taliban operations closer to the main highway from Kandahar to Helmand province. https://cdn.neonsky.app/50aa5e49ea29f/images/01102013_Becherer_Afghanwar020.jpg War in Afghanistan MAY 20, 2010- SINGESAR, AFGHANISTAN American soldiers watches as smokes rises from a rocket attack by American helicopters on a Taliban position. The patrol was harassed by a sniper and automatic weapons fire most of the morning. The 2nd Battalion, 1st Infantry Regiment, A Company operating out of Combat Outpost Lakhokhel in the Zhair district of Kandahar province searched several compounds and patrolled the village of Singesar and the surrounding area to talk to people and disrupt the Taliban operations closer to the main highway from Kandahar to Helmand province. Singesar is a Taliban stronghold and the traditional homeland of Taliban leader Mullah Omar. https://cdn.neonsky.app/50aa5e49ea29f/images/01102013_Becherer_Afghanwar026.jpg A Tough Fight with the Taliban in Marjah The Marines have been unable to get control of the Marjah District in Afghanistan, where the Taliban insurgency is thriving with support from Pakistan and revenues from opium trade in the region. https://cdn.neonsky.app/50aa5e49ea29f/images/01102013_Becherer_Afghanwar029.jpg War in Afghanistan NOVEMBER 3, 2010- TALUKAN, AFGHANISTAN American soldiers watches as a villager who lost his house after the Americans dropped bombs on it the night before sheds tears. The villager alerted the Americans to the fact that the Taliban where holed up in his home. The Americans then bombed the home the following night. The man now was asking for compensation as everything he owned was destroyed in the attack. He now lives outside of town in a tent and was asking for food and clothing for this children. https://cdn.neonsky.app/50aa5e49ea29f/images/BechererPortfolio003.jpg Afghanistan: The Longest War | Max Becherer-Visual Journalist/Photo Editor View Afghanistan: The Longest War by Max Becherer-Visual Journalist/Photo Editor. https://maxbecherer.com/home 2026-06-19 monthly 0.8 https://maxbecherer.com/the-dark-days-iraq 2026-06-19 monthly 0.8 https://maxbecherer.com/iraq-rebuilding 2026-06-19 monthly 0.8 https://maxbecherer.com/election-day-martyr 2026-06-19 monthly 0.8 https://maxbecherer.com/doctors-of-war 2026-06-19 monthly 0.8 https://maxbecherer.com/medivac 2026-06-19 monthly 0.8 https://maxbecherer.com/published-work 2026-06-19 monthly 0.8