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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Spin Control

Spokane vortex strikes: Afghanistan

Army Spcs. Zachary Boyd, Jordan Custer and Cecil Montgomery under fire in Afghanistan. (David Guttenfelder / The Associated Press)
Army Spcs. Zachary Boyd, Jordan Custer and Cecil Montgomery under fire in Afghanistan. (David Guttenfelder / The Associated Press)

AP Photo by David Guttenfelder

Sometimes it seems there's a Spokane connection to almost anything, if you look hard enough.

Here's one that was overlooked, however. The above picture set off a bit of a media tidal wave earlier this month when a soldier in Afghanistan rolled out of his bunk during a Taliban attack, grabbed his helmet, vest and rifle, but nothing else, and rushed to the sandbags to fire back.

Spc. Zachary Boyd of Fort Worth became a darling of the media, particularly the New York media, for taking up his post in pink boxer shorts that proclaim I Love New York. (He's also wearing flip-flops, but, really, it was the pink shorts that landed the AP photo on the front page of the New York Times.) Defense Secretary Robert Gates even sprang to Boyd's defense, saying, essentially, U.S. soldiers are tough enough to fight in pink short and flip flops.

OK, good on New York, good on Fort Worth. What's in it for Spokane, you ask?

The guy next to Boyd is Spc. Jordan Custer of Spokane. And if you'll look closely, you'll notice something about his attire that's not regulation, either.

Give up? Go inside the blog to find out what.

Custer is wearing running shoes...and no socks.



The Spokesman-Review's political team keeps a critical eye on local, state and national politics.