Army Sgt. Henry Harrell stands next to the artwork he painted on his brigade commander's office door at Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan, Nov. 20, 2009. U.S. Army photo by Pfc. Garett Hernandez | | BAGRAM AIRFIELD, Afghanistan, Dec. 7, 2009 -- A Task Force Protector soldier here is building unit pride and esprit de corps by using his artistic skills to decorate an office inside a refurbished shipping container.
The many talents of Army Sgt. Henry Harrell, a counterinsurgency noncommissioned officer with Headquarters, Headquarters Company, 16th Military Police Brigade, are evident on the office door of Army Col. John F. Garrity, Task Force Protector commander.
“I have been working with art in general since I was 5. I just started drawing one day and never stopped,” Harrell said. “I took 10 art classes in high school, and turned down a full art scholarship to come into the Army.”
Adjacent shipping containers house the offices of the Task Force Protector commander, deputy commander, command sergeant major and the counterinsurgency section. Wooden walls and doors inside the containers were painted white years ago and remained plain until Garrity noticed Harrell's talents and eye for color.Harrell was sketching on a pad one day when Garrity saw his work and asked Harrell if he would be willing to paint a design on his door. Harrell agreed, and after receiving the necessary tools and paints from Garrity, went to work during his off-duty time to complete the door, arriving |
