Marines See Benefits of 'Hunt and Help' in Helmand

MIAN POSHETH, Afghanistan May 31, 2010 — -- Southern Helmand Province, Afghanistan, is the opium capital of the world and the financial base of the Taliban. It is one of the most dangerous parts of country.

"Nightline" visited the province to see Marines Fox Company at work in the town of Mian Posheth. After months of volatility, there are signs that Helmand may be calming -- and the Marines credit their own restraint in engaging in combat, combined with local outreach tactics.

Watch the full story tonight on "Nightline" at 11:35 p.m. ET

One day we accompanied Marines a few miles south of their base, where the company said they'd found an unexploded roadside bomb. The bomb disposal squad was on site.

The tip was reported by a local Afghan. Such tips are one advantage of the soldiers' living among the people.

We walked a mile through poppy fields, avoiding the road, which was likely littered with bombs.

The bomb squad prepared for the task at hand.

"I have to put my faith life and my trust in his hands and vice versa," said Staff Sgt. Eric Chir of his partner, Sgt. Johnny Jones.

"We either talk a lot or we don't talk at all, but we always know what each other is about to do," said Jones.

This isn't "The Hurt Locker." There are no big bomb suits, and robots can't be used in this terrain.

With painstaking care, the Marines prepared to detonate the bomb.

There was an achingly long silence, and then... the bomb went off.

The blast rang in our ears. We walked to the crater, but suddenly a local resident warned that there were three more bombs in the area.

Hearts pounding, we carefully followed our own footsteps back across a canal.

It was a reminder of how tenuous the progress is here. Helmand has been cleared several times but never held.

And as tense as the experience was, it was a big improvement over the violent situation here just nine months ago.