I’ve been searching for this photo since New Year…I couldn’t remember where I’d seen it. I think it’s a beautiful composition. It couldn’t have been better if it had been set up.

Johannes Eisele: ‘I was on a two week embed with the medevac helicopter of the 159th Brigade Task Force Thunder, stationed west of Kandahar. On this flight, the medics picked up three heavily wounded US soldiers. Everything was happening really fast. As we took off, I saw the soldiers left behind, gathering together and hiding their faces from the sand. I think this picture stands out for three reasons: the balance and composition give it a certain calm; the group dynamic of the soldiers in adverse conditions; even the symbolism of the country’s dust and dirt raining down on Americans’

Photograph: Johannes Eisele/AFP/Getty Images