As surely as you can find the Afghan soldiers at Combat Outpost Mizan gathered at sunrise for morning prayers, at sunset you can find them playing volleyball.

They practice incessantly when they're not on patrol, and their evening games are intense, to say the least.

One soldier who dashed over razor wire to retrieve a stray ball said his commander was initially the driving force behind the games, but now they are hooked.

(Photo by Ben Brody for GlobalPost)

(Photo by Ben Brody for GlobalPost)