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I have not recorded in formal combat, but in some other hot desert conflict areas- the recommendations I have for you are-
gear-
Bring Sennheiser 416's and 816's or perhaps an MKH 70. Also bring backups.
Recorder- the Sound Devices 744 is pretty great. I personally would recommend recording to both SD cards and the internal drive (cards expecially if you are in vehicles or on foot in possible places of contact.
bring a minimal kit, but have backups of everything. You might also consider bringing hard-drives to do backups to that can be shipped back to your offices in the states as the shoot progresses.
personal gear- check with your POC on the DoD end to see what protective gear they can provide. You would be well advised to get the "Press" marked body armor (I cannot stress that enough). You will not be armed as to the rules the military issues, but as Michael Yon found out (and he is a former soldier) getting some training on both handguns and the M16 and AK47/74 would be a great idea- The Taliban are not going to generally know about you, and if you get in a firefight, they will be shooting at YOU. If, heaven forbid, you are in a life or death situation and have to use a weapon, it would be good if you can do so without jeopardizing those around you. War is not regular human life- so the rules of "regular" human life do not always apply. Check on the sort of stuff that deployed troops are recommended to bring- these will include things like babywipes, gold bond powder and other things to take care of your body- a personal fav of mine is AHAVA moisturizing lotion, it is really good for helping your skin recover from the elements there.
Also dont stray from your group EVER. even if your director says so. The Taliban do and will kidnap troops to use them as hostages, and even human shields. dont give them help with that. As far as that goes consider any place you travel in the general area (which includes Pakistan, Turkey and Iraq) to be hostile areas where elevated situational awareness is demanded for safety.
The single biggest threat in theatre will be IED's so all of the above can quickly become irrelevent in the event of you being involved in that.
As an embed, the troops are going to see you in the same way as carrying an extra weight room into battle, do everything you can to be in shape, and ready to go always. The physical demands for foot patrol work are beyond your wildest dreams so getting used to carrying 60 or more pounds on hikes out to 10 miles is what you need to be prepared for. Also remember that due to elevation of Afghanistan the oxygen amounts will likely be much less than you are used to.
I know that might sound intense, but it is what it is.
added - if you need more info I might be able to get you in touch with some combat photographers- let me know via pm.
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