Military hospitals in Kandahar, Afghanistan (13 images)

KANDAHAR, AFGHANISTAN - MARCH 18: Afghan farm laborer Abdul Fatah (L), father of Abdul Rahman, 13, talks with his son after a surgery at Kandahar Regional Military Hospital in Kandahar to repair burn damage the boy suffered in rural Afghanistan. Six months ago, Abdul Rahman's clothes were soaked with gasoline after a long day working in a fuel station to make extra money in rural Zabul province, and they caught fire, burning him so badly his skin melted and his chin fused to his chest when it scarred over. Abdul Fatah had no money for doctors for his son and treated him at home, spreading butter on his burns every night. Several weeks ago he trekked with his son to Kandahar looking for treatment, and eventually ended up at the American-funded Afghan Army military hospital for Kandahar. Afghan medics under supervision of American Army doctor Lt. Col. Barry Steinberg separated Abdul Rahman's chin from his chest in a series of surgeries, and while his burns need daily treatment, he is expected to recover. "These people have been very kind," father Abdul Fatah says.

KANDAHAR, AFGHANISTAN - MARCH 18: Abdul Rahman, 13, is comforted by hospital staff while nurses change the dressings on his burn wounds March 18, 2010 at Kandahar Regional Military Hospital in Kandahar, Afghanistan.

KANDAHAR, AFGHANISTAN - MARCH 18: American Army doctor Lt. Col. Barry Steinberg of Jacksonville, Florida looks on as burn patient Abdul Rahman, 13, is treated by Afghan Army doctors at Kandahar Regional Military Hospital in Kandahar, Afghanistan.

KANDAHAR, AFGHANISTAN - MARCH 18: An Afghan nurse (R) removes bandages from the burn wounds of a heavily-sedated Abdul Rahman, 13, March 18, 2010 at Kandahar Regional Military Hospital in Kandahar, Afghanistan.

KANDAHAR, AFGHANISTAN - MARCH 18: Abdul Rahman, 13, holds on to a stuffed toy as he waits for nurses to come change the dressings on his burn wounds March 18, 2010 at Kandahar Regional Military Hospital in Kandahar, Afghanistan.

KANDAHAR, AFGHANISTAN - MARCH 18: A wall displays current and previous winners of the "Nurse of the Month" awards March 18, 2010 at Kandahar Regional Military Hospital in Kandahar, Afghanistan. The hospital is one of the premiere Afghan-run medical centers in the country, and operates in a new building built with American funds on a Afghan Army base near the NATO base of Kandahar Air Field.

KANDAHAR, AFGHANISTAN - MARCH 18: An Afghan doctor (R) looks over an external leg-lengthening fixator on an Afghan patient (L), who is having the procedure done to correct a childhood injury, on March 18, 2010 at Kandahar Regional Military Hospital in Kandahar, Afghanistan. Under US and British Army medical tutoring, Afghan doctors at the hospital are beginning to conduct advanced procedures never before available at non-NATO hospitals in the impoverished, war-torn country.

KANDAHAR, AFGHANISTAN - MARCH 18: An Afghan medical assistant carries a tray of food March 18, 2010 at Kandahar Regional Military Hospital in Kandahar, Afghanistan.

KANDAHAR, AFGHANISTAN - MARCH 18: A sign in Dari and English stands outside the Kandahar Regional Military Hospital March 18, 2010 in Kandahar, Afghanistan.

KANDAHAR, AFGHANISTAN - MARCH 17: A doctor heads into the trauma ward of the NATO Role 3 Multinational Hospital March 17, 2010 at Kandahar Air Field in Kandahar, Afghanistan. The Role 3 hospital is Kandahar's main trauma center and is one of the crucial NATO hospitals in the country, one of only a handful capable of performing advanced ("Role 3") surgeries. The hospital is housed a rambling series of Soviet-era buildings and tents but is slated to move this summer into a modern new building nearby.

KANDAHAR, AFGHANISTAN - MARCH 17: Navy sailors don scrub caps before an informational visit into the operating room at the NATO Role 3 Multinational Hospital March 17, 2010 at Kandahar Air Field in Kandahar, Afghanistan.

KANDAHAR, AFGHANISTAN - MARCH 17: Medical staff work on an Afghan boy with a broken arm while his father stands by at the NATO Role 3 Multinational Hospital on March 17, 2010 at Kandahar Air Field in Kandahar, Afghanistan.

KANDAHAR, AFGHANISTAN - MARCH 17: Lieutenant Commander Jonathan Gibbons of Arlington, Virginia consults on the phone in an office at the NATO Role 3 Multinational Hospital March 17, 2010 at Kandahar Air Field in Kandahar, Afghanistan.