U.S. Navy Lt. j.g. Matthew Stroup, public affairs officer

U.S. Navy Lt. j.g. Matthew Stroup, public affairs officer with Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) Farah, reads a book as part of a United Through Reading Read-a-thon sponsored by the PRT on FOB Farah, Jan. 18. Participants in the program were encouraged to read to children in their families or to students at Birch Elementary in Idaho, to promote childhood literacy. United Through Reading is a non-profit organization that enables deployed service members to share their love and support with their children by reading books aloud on DVD. PRT Farah's mission is to train, advise, and assist Afghan government leaders at the municipal, district, and provincial levels in Farah province Afghanistan. Their civil military team is comprised of members of the U.S. Navy, U.S. Army, the U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). (U.S. Navy photo by HMC Josh Ives/released)