'Hurry up... and wait' remains the military way of doing things, despite all the sophistication of modern warfare.

On an embed with the US military in Afghanistan, we spent eleven hours in the back of an armoured truck bouncing across the desert. A day of waiting around in the heat and the dust. And then a surprise change of plan, and a return journey all the way back to where we came from.

Then there's a sudden chance of a ride in a helicopter, and a rush to get to the air field. Sure there's a flight... in 12 hours' time. And after eight hours, they cancel it.
For the US Marines deployed in Afghanistan, such delays and uncertainty are part of the job.

"We don't know what day it is, or think about what we are doing tomorrow," said Sergeant Heath Nall, a member of a Marine counter-IED (Improvised Explosive Device) unit. "We just keep working, and when it's time to go home, they'll tell us."

Being out in the desert, sleeping in hammocks hung between their parked vehicles, is where these small groups of 30 or so young fighting men like to be.

They refer to Camp Leatherneck, their headquarters in Helmand province, as the "funny farm" where too many people issue too many orders. Out in the field, they are closer to the action and free from the constraints of life on base.

When not clearing roads of bombs planted by Taliban insurgents, they spend their days tinkering with their MRAPs (Mine Resistant, Ambush Protected) trucks, sweating manically through the heat of the day.

Later, in the cool of the evening, they pump weights using full ammunition boxes hanging from either end of a heavy axe, clean their guns, or doze with their iPods.

They appear to survive on a balanced diet of PopTarts and Gatorade.

Embedded journalists, who are posted to live with the US Marines for a short time, are treated with curiosity and humour.

"Put it this way," said Lieutenant Mark Tucher as he surveyed the laptop bag slung over my shoulder. "I wouldn't come here without a gun."

In this blog, reporters and editors for global news wire AFP blog about the news they report and the challenges they face covering events from Baghdad to Beijing, the White House to Darfur. Ben Sheppard is an embedded reporter in Afghanistan.