Mountain patrols are tough on U.S. troops

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Mountain patrols are tough on U.S. troops in Afghanistan


Mountain patrols are tough on U.S. troops
By Seth Robson, Stars and Stripes
Mideast edition, Wednesday, December 19, 2007

ZABUL PROVINCE, Afghanistan — Death can come by the bullet or by plummeting off a mountainside in southern Afghanistan’s Dey Chopan district.

U.S. soldiers here have shelter, of sorts, from the elements at Forward Operating Base Baylough, 8,000 feet above sea level. The base — a collection of tents, plywood structures and an ancient adobe building surrounded by razor wire and earth barriers — allows a few dozen soldiers from 2nd Platoon, Company A, 1st Battalion, 4th Infantry Regiment to control the surrounding valley, despite regular Taliban attacks.

On paper, 2nd Platoon — the Mustangs out of Hohenfels, Germany — are responsible for security in all of Dey Chopan district, which is home to an estimated 45,000 Pashtun tribesmen, according to platoon leader 1st Lt. Alex Sanchez, 24, of La Mirada, Calif.

But even with the help of 17 Afghan National Army soldiers and two dozen Afghan National Police officers, Sanchez’s authority is limited to the valley, which soldiers call the “Baylough Bowl.”

“The reality is we are undermanned. We have enough combat power to hold what we have and that’s all,” he said.


Rest of article at: http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=51104