Original U.S. Military Afghanistan Visual Language Survival Guide, Kwikpoint, Afghanistan, 2008

Original U.S. military visual communication guide produced by Kwikpoint for service members deployed in Afghanistan. It is a laminated, accordion-fold field guide designed for face-to-face communication through images, coded reference panels, maps, and basic phrases. The guide includes panels for identification, weapons, ambush, surveillance, IED parts, IED concealment, surrender, vehicle stops, hostages and rewards, body charts, travel, and basic Pashto and Dari communication. Google Books identifies the title as Afghanistan Visual Language Survival Guide - Three Languages, published by Kwikpoint in 2008, and describes it as a guide for service members dealing with booby traps, ambush, traffic stops, insurgent surrender, suspect and vehicle identification, and detainee search. It discusses Kwikpoint’s Afghanistan Visual Language Survival Guide separately as a privately produced visual communication card used by Allied troops. 

Title: Afghanistan Visual Language Survival Guide

Leaflet Number: N/A

Operation: Operation Enduring Freedom

Conflict / War: War in Afghanistan

Year: 2008

Country / Theater: Afghanistan

Language(s): English, Pashto, and Dari

Format: Original laminated accordion-fold visual language survival guide, multi-panel, double-sided

Publisher / Producer: Kwikpoint

Associated Command: U.S. Joint Forces Command, shown by the emblem on the front cover

Provenance: N/A

Translation / Content:
The guide does not carry a single propaganda message. It functions as a visual communication tool. The cover states: “To use the VLSG: Speak a phrase or point to it. Kwikpoint pictures answer questions. Provides survival level language skills in words and pictures. Allows instant 2-way communication without language training.” Interior panels include Pashto and Dari terms for numbers, days, basic commands, surrender phrases, identification, weapons, travel, pain, medical needs, directions, vehicle needs, and basic interaction. The surrender section visually instructs a person to drop weapons, raise hands, lie on the ground, submit to control, and undergo strip search. The IED and ambush sections use coded images to identify bomb makers, trigger men, spotters, remote and manual detonation, trip wires, IED concealment, weapons caches, attacker locations, and vehicle-based threats.

Imagery: The guide uses dense, color-coded visual panels with simplified illustrations, reference codes, and bilingual or trilingual labels. It includes regional and national maps, identity charts for height, age, sex, weight, skin color, eye color, hair color, facial hair, clothing, vehicles, and animals. Threat-recognition panels show weapons, rockets, mortars, explosives, detonators, suicide vests, vehicle bombs, trip wires, hidden IEDs, caches, ambush positions, hostage scenarios, and reward exchanges. Other panels show surrender, search, detention, pain location, time, family relations, flags, diplomatic sites, travel directions, and everyday needs.

Objective: To give U.S. and allied personnel a portable visual language tool for communicating with Afghan civilians, detainees, suspects, prisoners, and local informants where shared language was limited. The guide supports tactical questioning, suspect identification, surrender management, detainee search, IED recognition, cache reporting, vehicle stops, medical communication, and basic field interaction.

Condition: Very good condition. Complete laminated fold-out guide with bright color panels, clear text, and legible illustrations throughout. Visible fold lines, light surface wear, minor edge wear, and handling marks are present, but the guide remains intact, clean, and fully readable.

Exhibited in Khajistan: Office of War Information (O.W.I.) at Pioneer Works, New York, May 08 – Aug 09, 2026.