Agriculture at War in Afghanistan

ASADABAD, Afghanistan - The slight Californian agronomist who traded in his dreadlocks for a beard before leaving for his first deployment in a military zone is often mistaken by American soldiers he works around as a "terp" - short for interpreter. He wryly notes that "terp" in the local Pashtu language also means radish, a vegetable that grows well here in eastern Afghanistan.

"Only once have I been mistaken for a US Special Forces fighter," joked Pedro Torrez, 35, who is one in a small but expanding army of experts that the Barack Obama administration hopes can help defeat al-Qaeda and its affiliated jihadi groups.