Battle in the Mountains for Hearts and Minds
PECH RIVER VALLEY, Afghanistan, Sept. 12, 2006 -- -- Under a full moon, a squad of soldiers from the 10th Mountain Division moves out from its fire base along the Pech River Road in the Kunar Province of Afghanistan.
"Any time I leave this area, to me it's risky," Staff Sgt. Matthew McKenzie, the patrol's leader, says. "Especially when it's just me and my seven guys and we go out there. You never know what's going to happen. You could run into a group of three or four or 15."
The soldiers will establish an ambush position for the night, keeping watch over the main road that runs through the valley. With the moon at its brightest, the enemy has the ability to move more easily along the high mountain summits that surround the valley and target the villages and military camps below.
"This is an area that traditionally has been a safe haven for al Qaeda training and planning, such as the training and planning that took place for 9/11," said Capt Rob Stanton, commander for the three small fire bases that dot the road along the Pech River. "They don't want the government to have an influence up here."
Extending the reach and influence of the Afghan government is part of the mission of U.S. soldiers based in this area. Working with local leadership, meeting with community elders, and helping people meet the basic necessities of life are all a part of American efforts to maintain a presence in the area.
The soldiers who serve under Stanton live on small bases under spartan conditions. Tents, lean-tos and tarps are used to shelter the cots they sleep on. The mess halls are little more than makeshift tables in the open air with coolers filled with cold drinks alongside. Machine gunners hunker down in wooden guard posts.
Unlike the larger bases with multiple layers of security, these camps are tucked among the rocks that line the road, surrounded with just concertina wire and sand-filled barriers.
"We literally live in the backyard of the people who have lived here for centuries," Stanton says. "We are surrounded by local villagers and it serves a very distinct purpose in allowing us to have a day-to-day interaction with the people who live here. Which is much more than what the insurgent has. He just comes out of the mountains when he needs something. But we are here all the time."
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