FORWARD OPERATING BASE ZEEBRUGGE, Afghanistan — Ladies and gentlemen, we’ve reached the edge of the empire. Photographer James Lee and I arrived Tuesday on a convoy on this fire base. It’s situated on the northern reaches of the Marine area of operations in Helmand province. Only a small Marine observation post known as The Shrine is farther north, and it’s just a short drive away. Zamindawar, a violent section of Kajaki district, is about a mile to the north. We hit the ground running and quickly joined a patrol run by Police Advisory Team 1, 1st Battalion, 8th Marines, out…