Afghans lead the way in these mountains

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Afghans lead the way in these mountains


Afghans lead the way in these mountains
By Seth Robson, Stars and Stripes
Mideast edition, Tuesday, December 18, 2007

DEY CHOPAN, Afghanistan — Taliban fighters called to each other in Arabic across the mountainsides in Dey Chopan district, a part of southern Afghanistan plagued by poverty and violence near the border with Pakistan.

The Taliban were tracking a platoon of Afghan National Army troops, from 1st Candat, 2nd Battalion, 205th Corps, and their American Embedded Tactical Trainers from the South Carolina National Guard as they drove deep into the mountains to replace another ANA platoon. The movement required a dangerous trek up a twisting track seldom traveled by coalition forces.

Last time the platoon came here, during a recent operation, they encountered nine roadside bombs, according to the ETT commander, Maj. Harry Bird, 44, of Charleston, S.C.

The ANA, riding in Ford Ranger pickups, and the ETT, in armored Humvees, moved up the road with caution, driving carefully over the many deep ruts and potholes and stopping regularly to scout for the enemy.

Each time the convoy halted, the ANA troops, a mix of Tajiks, Uzbeks, Pashtuns and Hazars, leapt out of their vehicles and sprinted up the slopes like mountain goats, searching for the enemy.


Rest of article at: http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=51066