Original subtitles

Previously on The Fighting Seasons. The problem with Colonel Graham is he just

wanted to go and just do it.

We have to get out there so we can engage with people right here in Kabul.

Biggest threat is kidnapping.

Colonel Graham put my life, my teammates' lives in danger.

Shit happens everywhere.

You got it. Get the job done. Get the job done.

The movement of lethal aid in Afghanistan is critically important for

fighting.

Arctic Fox's role is to oversee the supply -resupply process that runs

his province.

It's going to be a pretty significant operation for the White Devils. Let's

this thing.

You know, a lot of people say it's a holy war, it's a religious war.

I think it's just full -blown aggression, and religion's an excuse for

That's how I look at it.

This is not a struggle of the have -nots. The guys that ascribe to this

doctrine, those guys, they want to kill us.

They would happily kill you or I.

And you're a noncombatant, and they would happily kill you.

People don't understand that.

They don't understand that.

Within our national interest, the Afghan security forces to be able to secure

their own country and protect themselves so this place doesn't become a safe

haven for terrorism that could be exported to our shore.

We've sacrificed quite a lot over the past 12 years in this country.

And it really, to me, reinforces why we've got to finish

strong.

At Kandahar Airfield, Task Force White Devil from the 82nd Airborne Division is

setting out for their next mission.

The young guys that are 18, 19 years old, you see them out here, and they're

guys that are humping all the weight and just busting their ass.

They have 100 % trust in you. So the responsibility of having 139 guys

that much, it weighs on you at times. If you don't have the mental focus out

there and you're not remaining vigilant and you're not executing to standard,

you could cost people their lives.

The first Chinook helicopter arrives at its destination, forward operating base

Sweeney.

From this base, Task Force White Devil will be working hand -in -hand with the

Afghan National Army.

As the Afghan elections approach, their mission is to suppress the Taliban's

movement of lethal aid, weapons, ammunition, and equipment across the

from Pakistan. Their primary target is a Taliban leader known as Arctic Fox.

Establishing security is their first priority.

Mortars provide effective and accurate fire support.

With

no

aircraft in the area, the mortar team fires a flare round to set the base

and guarantee accurate targeting.

With security established, the rest of the arrivals can safely land.

Back at home base in Kandahar, the rest of Task Force White Devil is awaiting

their turn to ship out to FOB Sweeney.

Major Will Kanda stops in the Tactical Operations Center for a final check of

preparations.

The news is terrible.

Five Americans have been reported casualties.

It's really weird to hear 5KIA and no wounded. If it was a gunfight, people

would expire over time.

The witnesses would all be dead all of a sudden. So either a mortar round drops

and hits a perfect spot to kill all of them, which is unlikely, or they're all

standing around an IED, which makes sense if you've got an EOD guy, because

what's he doing? He's confusing the bomb.

So this is what we do when we don't know. We catastrophize.

Yeah.

What are the battle roster numbers?

I got the battle roster numbers right here.

Battle roster is Mike Charlie, 4714.

I was checking that battle roster number to make sure the guy I know wasn't

dead. That's what I was concerned about. The dude that I work with, I can't see

his face in my head right now.

That guy died.

And there was no question they all died.

There was no ambiguity. We had five KIs and no women.

Nothing big had to happen. It had to be an explosion.

We'll see. We'll know more tomorrow.

Bottom line, there's five husbands not going home.

Yep. Or five children, five kids.

All right, bye. Done.

For sure.

They're going home.

They're going home.

Dad, I miss you, Dad. I want you to fly home.

I want to fly home, believe me, and I miss you too. You should go get some

pancakes. My daughter's name is Eleanor, and she just turned three.

What is that?

It's a rainbow for you.

A rainbow for me? It's a rainbow for you.

Thank you, boo -boo. I just recently had a little boy. He's seven months old

now, and his name is Baby Cap.

Hi, Baby Cap.

Hey, boy.

Baby Cap.

Hey,

Baby Cap. Give me a big smile.

He's waving.

I try to call home every night.

Stay connected that way and know what's going on. I will be probably out of the

loop for a couple days.

I don't think we have phone service at where we're going.

I guess we'll talk to you. Just call me when you can.

Okay, I will. I'll figure something out.

Say bye -bye. My wife definitely makes a difference in how I do my job, and she

knows it. Bye -bye. Bye -bye.

All right.

Sounds good.

Okay. Good to see your face.

I like seeing your face, too.

In Kabul, Colonel John Graham and his team comb the city, searching out

gaps that could endanger the upcoming Afghan national election.

My team, we move in the fabric of society.

we have to know what's going on other elements that travel throughout

afghanistan move like we're looking ahead see this really large convoy right

here these guys unfortunately have to just move may to be and see him just

sitting up there that's his view of afghanistan for a year from that cupola

that's what he knows about the people that's what he knows about what's going

down each of us came into this for our own reason and there's a sense of duty

there's a sense of country there's a sense of what's right and what we should

do. I joined originally because of my grandfather.

He was an 80 -second, jumped into World War II, and then he was also in the

Korean War.

Wow.

That's a hell of a mix. There's not many people that did that. My father

graduated from West Point years ago, was killed when I was five in Vietnam,

worked for a group called MACV.

MACV is the job that I have today.

So when I got the word, they said, what do you want to do?

And Afghanistan.

I said, I want to be an advisor.

I don't know my father.

I'll never get to know him.

But maybe if I do a job that's like him, I can figure out what was going through

his head.

Right turn on Romeo, roger.

All right, we're just making the right now.

No, we will never go into these fucking places.

No, no.

Why would we go drive in these neighborhoods?

He doesn't get it very much.

He told me day one, I need you to advise me on when I'm doing anything stupid.

Let me know if I'm doing something unsafe, you know, et cetera, et cetera.

And I've tried.

I tried multiple times.

What are you doing?

What are we doing now? Why is everybody out of the truck?

When General Anderson is trying to make a decision about whether Afghanistan is

safe or not, whether the checkpoints are working, how do you do that if you

didn't go visit the checkpoint and actually collect on how they perform?

Well, we're the team that's been given the skill set to go do that, so we're

doing it.

The Ring of Steel commander has asked that you hand out each one of these to

each car that comes through before it gets inspected.

This is so that the people know why you are here.

Here we have a suicide suspect coming in the vehicle.

Here we have somebody getting questioned.

The idea is that they get distributed now, right before the elections. It only

changes the philosophy of why the checkpoint exists.

In one sense, it exists to be a harassment. That's how some people see

But with these, we like to say, hey, it exists for your security.

So buy into it and see something.

We should go.

We're pulling into Camp Phoenix. It's about six kilometers away from where we

live.

But it's further out into a little more dangerous territory. So you notice the

checks that we're going through right now are way more thorough than what we

get.

Graham's team is meeting with Major Howard.

whose team also assesses threat levels in the city based on their own

intelligence and experience.

Atmospheric shifts, a very subjective read on our part. We're not seeing a

hostile AO, but we're seeing an AO that's simmering a little bit.

Major Howard brings a different perspective to the security situation,

team is ultimately responsible for the safety of all coalition forces in Kabul.

And when we talk about the atmospheres, we're talking about the...

A little bit more rock throwing, a little more tolerance for that, seeing

one -finger salute, things like that, just picking up and kind of slowly

its way up there.

So are you all getting rocks thrown at you?

Generally across the board, us and several other units are getting rocks a

little more. Okay, so I'll just throw in that we drove through, basically

nothing hit us. The police behind us and the police in front of us were getting

pummeled.

A lot of them, at first, would walk right in front of the vehicle, spin in

of the vehicle, not move out of the way.

Now, they'll see our vehicles.

They, you know, move out of the way, wave us through and wave.

Again, subjective.

Bottom line is looking at that atmospherics and seeing that is

definitely need to monitor.

Matt, I'm with you on the kids like to throw rocks at trucks. I did, too.

We've had a different take, definitely.

And we've gotten out and gone shopping or stopped at a couple fruit stands,

picked some stuff up.

Crowds gather.

They talk. They want to do English.

We walked through PD -1 and had some conversations to the edge. People were

begging us to start shopping. They were like, hey, security is great. Come on

in. Water's fine. Major Howard and Colonel Graham clearly differ in their

assessments on the current threat level.

Sweet. Thank you, sir.

Sir? I just have a couple things to add.

especially as we enter into this new period of critical phase of security for

Kabul as we get into this pre -election phase. Last week, the security chiefs,

they talked about security.

The Taliban or the other insurgent groups are going to try to bring it.

We should expect enemy activity to increase next week. Something will

next week.

Camp Phoenix is an integral part of Kabul's security infrastructure.

It's home to Task Force Volunteer, one of the last remaining U .S. quick

reaction forces in Kabul.

100 % security all the time. Bring it in.

They're the first responders to an emergency facing any coalition unit in

city. If Colonel Graham's team came under fire, Task Force Volunteer would

mobilize to rescue them.

Our mission here in Kabul is essentially to leverage the Afghan National

Security Forces, or ANSF, to help the coalition as much as possible and kind

fill in some of the gaps that the withdrawal has basically created.

The vast majority of the personnel that are on this camp right now are

reservists and National Guardsmen. And that's a pretty amazing dynamic.

They have a whole other skill set that they bring the lessons that they've

learned. and the skills that they developed in that civilian job and

the Army's knowledge a little bit.

Even though we're just going to do range operations, there, during, and back, we

are on a combat patrol.

They're crossing the city to a secure gun range. The challenge is getting

and back in safety for both the soldiers and civilians.

We're going to have vehicles outside a secure area.

And what happens when we have vehicles outside a secure area? Who comes around

to see the vehicles?

Kids, all right.

There is no doubt in my mind that the enemy, they're pushing these kids to get

shot. All right?

That's gold for them. Because nothing would read better on Al Jazeera or CNN

that a U .S. soldier shoots children.

Now, the concern with that is you may have 50 kids stowing rocks. You may have

one with a grenade or one with a magnetic IED.

Leaders today.

Great job. I saw you physically inspecting the shotguns to ensure there

less lethal rounds than that.

That's what we need to do every morning, all right, because we start getting

within that 100 -day bubble of going home. We start getting lax. We start

slowing down. It's the basics that keep you alive in combat.

All right, final radio checks, last gear check.

Let's head towards the gate.

Just south of Kabul lies the Tangi Valley.

Its villages have always been a Taliban stronghold, and the insurgents it

protects present a direct risk to the elections in the capital.

The largest single loss of American lives in the war happened in the Tangi

Valley, when a Chinook helicopter carrying 38 men was shot down by a

RPG. The valley is bookended by two highways that lead directly to Kabul,

69 kilometers away.

The Afghan National Army outpost at Baraki Barak on the eastern side of the

valley is a major obstacle between the Taliban and the capital.

Advising the ANA is Major Darren Glenn of the 10th Mountain Division.

This has been the longest war in the United States history.

The first time I was here back in 2008, we were going out, we were doing the

fighting, we were engaging the enemy.

This time, we're really starting to move to the Afghans are fighting the enemy

on their own, and we're just there to advise and assist.

In 24 hours, the Afghan National Army will conduct their first independent

search -and -destroy mission in the valley to flush the Taliban and reclaim

Tangi. The U .S. will be there to support the ANA, but Afghan boots will

only ones on the ground.

We're going to go hang out with the district governor and General Razik and

how things are going out there.

As -salamu alaykum.

I called American Special Forces. I called everyone. I said, I got to go get

friend General Razik. Here, back here, hanging out.

Afghan General Razik has earned his nickname, the Tiger of the Tangi, for

courageous fighting.

In addition, he is a mullah, a respected religious leader.

He has fought the Taliban for the last 13 years, and he understands the enemy's

tactics. Control the local population through intimidation and violence.

The enemy is focused on the valley because it is close to Kabul.

The enemy planned IED, make explosives.

We did everything and sent it to Kabul.

We've had some very successful clearing operations since we've been here where

we went in and cleared the enemy out of the valley.

Now the Afghan army will go into the valley and they will clear the

secure the population, and try to understand the people of the valley and

connect the people to the Afghan government.

The Taliban killed eight members of my family. They not only killed my family,

they killed more than 20 commanders who were with me, my friends.

So I continue fighting against the Taliban.

You know why the government of Afghanistan is going to win this war,

They're going to win because of things like kidnapping.

They're going to win because of things like cell phones.

They're going to win because of things like Internet and TV.

The people of Afghanistan don't want to be kidnapped.

They want their TVs. They want their cell phones. And the Taliban won't let

have that.

They absolutely won't let them have that.

Once that starts, they can't win.

Today is a good day. When we finish cleaning out the Tangier Valley, it'll

better day.

But that better day depends on the Afghan army and their ability to clear

valley without U .S. ground support.

Back at forward operating base Sweeney, the fourth and final helicopter turn of

the night lands safely.

There will be four more turns staggered over the next 24 hours, an unpredictable

flight schedule.

to fend off the constant threat of Taliban RPG fire against the vulnerable

helicopter.

As part of the drawdown, U .S. forces handed FOB Sweeney over to the Afghan

National Army.

So FOB Sweeney has not seen a U .S. soldier in 18 months.

And the hard work of reestablishing the American side of the FOB cannot wait for

daylight.

The white devils are here to stop the smuggling of lethal aid that threatens

national elections and to capture or kill the brains behind the transport

operation, a high -ranking Taliban leader codenamed Arctic Fox.

By morning, Fabswini is up and running.

And First Sergeant Schlegelmelch discovers an improvement to their rough

sleeping conditions.

It's not bad.

It's better than plywood. I tried sleeping on plywood for two weeks.

That shit hurts.

Think about using that water bed right now. But what looks like a comfy rack is

actually a massive water storage bladder.

200 ,000 gallons is the max.

And if she can get the well pump working, the White Devils will have

water, cutting down on resupply flights and maybe even allowing for an

unimagined luxury during this extended mission, showers.

But no matter what they try, they're not having any

luck.

These two have been trying to figure out how to get that water pump over there

to work.

It's going to be fun to watch as the frustration builds.

He told me the pump was burned up, though.

That's just what the Afghan Sergeant Major told me.

And judging by all the other pieces that are laying around out here, here's the

other pump.

And with that, the First Sergeant's hopes have run dry.

What the hell? And water will continue to be a scarce and precious resource for

this entire operation.

From the moment he landed, Captain Rick McEwen and his team have kept an ear on

the Taliban radio chatter.

They are developing an up -to -date local intel picture, and already that

vigilance is bearing fruit in their hunt for Arctic fox. We received a report

that the shadow governor for Zabal was located in Cooney Village.

There are multiple villages referred to as Cooney by the locals. It could be one

of the villages also known as Cochin and Kangar Kalay.

We'll go over and talk to the ANA and see what they refer to as Cooney

Despite the friendly collaboration with the Afghan National Army, over 150 U .S.

soldiers have been killed by Taliban that infiltrated the Afghan security

forces. So before Captain McEwen and his team crossed over to the Afghan side of

Fabswini, he takes precautions.

Sorry to wake you up.

It's that time of day. How are you today? Good? Please sit down.

Do you know anything about the village of Cochini Kangar Kalay?

Okay.

Now that he has clarity about which village they are looking for, Captain

wants to confirm the presence of Arctic Fox, the Taliban leader in charge of

smuggling lethal aid from Pakistan.

So we know that Mullah Saleem held a meeting about one week ago with Taliban

leaders. One of the names that they said was at the meeting was the commander

for all of Zabul.

As the peace has fallen into place, Captain McEwen suspects he knows the

Arctic Fox must employ to smuggle a large last desperate shipment of lethal

from Pakistan.

Those weapons and fighters must not reach Kabul, or the election could

bloodbath.

At Baraki Barak tactical command post, Major Darren Glenn advises the Afghan

National Army on their mission to drive the Taliban from the Tangi Valley and

deny the insurgents a critical staging base for disrupting the upcoming

election. I hope one of them kill a lot of enemy.

I think they will too, my friend. I think they will too. Very good.

Major Glenn is joined by the leadership of the 10th Mountain Division. While

coalition forces will not be on the ground in the Tanguy Valley mission,

will be providing support and assistance.

We had General Haight, who is in charge of all of the advisory efforts south of

Kabul, General Townsend, who is the 10th Mountain Division commander, and

Colonel Whitehurst, who is in charge of our battalion. Our whole objective is

that the Afghan security forces have to have...

Freedom of maneuver. Highway 1 is one of the main arteries, which runs into

Kabul. Highway 2, also very similar, runs north -south. So you have these two

main arteries, Highway 1 and Highway 2, that run into Kabul.

Their only connection is right here.

That's your only way to move laterally.

The ANA have developed a strategy for clearing the valley, and one tangy

is the key objective. Talking to the Afghans, this is where they really think

they can get.

Why is Ibrahim Kil decisive?

This is really an enemy support zone.

Once they get here, they've got a foothold. This is an economy of force

The Afghans will have very limited resources to exploit success up there.

So it's a challenge.

Since the Afghans will be firing heavy artillery, it's critical that everyone's

maps are in sync. We're calculating the fire missions on this map.

This is where it's very important that they be.

If the mission maps are not identical, the Afghan artillery could cause

casualties. It is very important that you track on your computer map

We have to

know precisely where the friendly forces

are and where the enemy is.

The fog of war in any type of military operation adds friction to everything

do. All of the command posts might know, the commanders might know, but we want

the sergeant who's...

Then you add another command node of the Afghans, the language barrier,

and it's just another level of friction that exists within the Tanguy Valley

operation.

Back on target.

Take your time.

You got the rest of your life to load the magazine in a gunfight.

Major Matt Howard leads a combat training exercise in the run -up to the

election. Task Force Volunteer is one of the coalition's last quick response

forces. The first step in a magazine change is, number one, you're rotating,

you're hitting that button to get that magazine out. Bring it in tight, locked,

not moving, magazine goes in.

Bolt goes forward and you're back on target.

You're not putting it in there and then tapping it in. Keeping your tactical

skills up is a key thing while you're here. A lot of people get the concept

when you go to a war zone, there's no more practice.

And that couldn't be farther from the case.

A unit, especially a small unit, is like a shark. If it stops swimming, it's

going to die.

You've got to keep progressing.

Transition drill.

Look at me real quick.

I'm coming in. Boom, boom, boom, boom.

I'm scanning down there because that's where the threat was. I'm scanning all

the way at the end.

Major Howard knows that soldiers fight like they train, so he takes training

very seriously.

Two rounds rifle, safe, pistol, two rounds.

Threat!

All right, stop.

Slow down with your pistol shooting.

You're getting there, man.

Yeah, I've never seen that before.

You're shaving off a quarter second here, a quarter second there, a half

here, and pretty soon you'll look like Major Howard.

It's like magic in his hand.

As Major Howard wraps up training, some unwanted guests arrive.

I got one.

I got it. We're good.

Yeah, because we're going back.

We're going to let the trucks. We're going to walk out.

It's just a group of kids.

Basically what they were doing is they wanted a handout.

We didn't have anything to hand out to them.

Hey, we need you guys to move back so we can get the trucks through.

When you get groups like that, you don't know.

One of them could have maybe had a grenade or a weapon that we couldn't

because you're trying to watch everything at one time.

So there's a lot of different threats.

Hey, watch out.

Watch out.

One of the biggest challenges we face on a day -to -day basis are kids throwing

rocks. It sounds kind of innocuous. The problem that we experience is we have

gunners on our vehicles. Their job is to look around and man the machine gun up

on the top of the vehicle. You have a kid that beams a rock, that action can

very quickly become lethal for us.

I'm throwing rocks!

We were coming back from the range, and we're in a convoy, and these kids, they

start throwing rocks at us.

And these aren't, like, little rocks. These are rocks the size of softballs or

bigger.

They're going

to seriously fuck some shit up with those size rocks.

Got a dazzle, go ahead and dazzle or smoke.

More

people

appeared behind our truck. They would throw like a volley of rock and then the

guys would go in and take our stuff.

Vic, get up here and let's rally up circle style real quick to make sure we

didn't lose anything.

The decision to go less lethal or lethal is a really important one. If you

misjudge that situation and you do engage with lethal force, you have the

potential of turning an entire area against you. And people are going to

that coalition forces, you know, killed a child. We're going to do everything we

possibly can without putting ourselves in too much danger

That's the last option. Jumper, back in your truck.

God damn it, Jumper.

Jumper, get back.

They took the tow strap over.

Jumper, get back in your vehicle.

Everybody mount back up.

My response is slightly different than everybody else's because I have a friend

who got his face crushed in with a rock in Iraq, so that's why.

I take that kind of situation a little more seriously than everybody else

because I know exactly what can happen to you.

We had to use a non -lethal round.

He didn't seem to much like the shotgun, ever.

Everybody all right?

As the elections approach, the Afghan National Army prepare to clear the

out of the Tangi Valley, an insurgent stronghold that is uncomfortably close

Kabul.

U .S. forces will advise and assist with planning and readiness, but the Afghans

will be the only ones on the ground.

Going in there, we have quite a bit of intelligence that there's a lot of enemy

activity. There always kind of has been. The Tangis are a tough place, and it's

key terrain for the enemy.

Brigadier General David Haight is the deputy commanding general for this

of Afghanistan.

Hopefully they'll make a lot of enemy contact in there and be able to kill a

of them. He knows the mission will not be easy for the Afghan army. We're going

into, I mean, arguably some of the most contested ground in the CENTCOM AOR

tomorrow.

Mujahideen destroyed two Russian divisions in the Tangi Valley back then.

There was no technology. They did it with .303 Enfields and RPG -7s, so they

know how to fight in there.

Historically, that's a pretty brutal people in there.

My soldiers have been killed in action and wounded in action in that valley.

So it is a little bit personal.

I watched my lead vehicle destroyed about 80 meters in front of me to a 400

-pound IED.

I can admit it would be personally satisfying to see them taken.

take back that terrain and give it back to the rightful owners, which is the

Afghan people and not the enemy.

The next morning, General Haith joins Afghan General Yaftali to gauge the

readiness of the Afghan artillery units for this mission.

We've created an army. It ain't beautiful yet, but it's better than the

The enemy doesn't have this stuff. That's why I'm always trying to

them. It's like, hey, they have overmatch. You just got to remind them.

-fire demonstration will show General Yaftali whether the artillery is ready

support the mission.

The reason for today's training exercise is to improve our knowledge and

understanding of these people.

There may be some room for improvement, but General Yaftali believes the

artillery units have performed well enough to participate in the mission.

And with the Tangi Valley operation about to begin, General Yaftali

his troops.

When you go on your mission, every bullet of yours that hits the enemy

life of your fellow soldier and supports you. You are the soldiers of

Afghanistan. You are responsible for the defense of this country. You have a

divine responsibility.

Besides the accidental danger of friendly fire, the ANA troops will face

intentional and deadly threat as they clear the Tangi Valley.

IEDs have killed thousands of Afghan soldiers and civilians, as well as many

coalition forces.

While some Afghan units are trained to disarm IEDs, every soldier must be able

to identify them.

But IEDs aren't always a buried threat. Sometimes they come in vehicles or on

foot.

And as the Afghan soldiers face this explosive threat on the ground, American

soldiers face a threat in the air.

Back at Fobsweeney, the most dangerous helicopter turn is about to land in

daylight.

Helicopters are particularly vulnerable during takeoffs and landings when they

fly low and slow.

The Chinook land safely, bringing manpower to the mission to stop the

of lethal aid from Pakistan and kill or capture the Taliban leader, codenamed

Arctic Fox.

Task Force White Devil has spread their eight helicopter turns across 24 hours

to keep the flight schedule unpredictable.

But a determined insurgent could simply wait them out.

The final three helicopter turns will come under cover of night.

They may be harder to see in the dark, but the Taliban will still have three

opportunities to take American lives.

But once Lieutenant Colonel Larson, the commander of Task Force White Devil,

arrives with the final turns of birds... How are the lads?

They're good, sir. The White Devils have safely completed their move to Fab

Sweeney. Coming, Commander, tomorrow at 10.

And then all the ANA are coming over here for rock drill. Okay.

All right, great. Just make sure, guys, get some sleep tonight, spend some time

hydrating. Yep. Tomorrow, get the stuff out, check it, double -check it, repack

it. All right, guys?

Yes, sir. All right, thanks.

Thanks.

Based on the intelligence they have collected since

arriving at Favsweeney, Captain McEwen and Captain Adams, commander of Charlie

Company, develop a new mission plan.

Darwazgay, a remote mountain pass in Zabal province, where two known Taliban

smuggling routes come together.

Captain McEwen believes a large shipment of lethal aid intended to disrupt the

elections will come through the pass in the next 48 hours.

The White Devils will support the Afghan National Army in executing

Captain Adams' plan to deny the Taliban the use of Route Duck.

Mixed teams of U .S. and Afghan soldiers will establish TCPs, or traffic control

points, and overwatch nearby dirt trails by which the Taliban may attempt to

avoid detection.

Such an operation is called a terrain denial mission.

Some of these operations, especially in this region, can be frustrating because

there's no smoking gun.

You know, there's not one single point where we're positive all the Taliban is

hiding or headquartered out of. So you've got to apply some good analysis

You've got to apply good tactical and operational standards for the mission.

Then you've got to have a little bit of luck.

But the White Devils can't count on just luck, even though they are prepared,

having brought everything they need with them.

They have to be alert.

and ever watch him. So it's basically just an aerostat with a camera that we

remote control from our top.

The wind's getting a little high.

We don't want to lose another bloopie.

You guys already lost one?

Yeah. How much do you start?

About 700 ,000.

And they have to be ready to treat casualties.

We have our operating room table.

So it's not a natural table, it's just a stand.

The patient comes in a litter.

With all their resources up and running, Lieutenant Colonel

Larson and his team visit the Afghan National Army Colonel to get him on

with their mission plan.

We'll meet and travel by helicopter.

I think we depart at 9 o 'clock.

Do you know that? No, I just... Darwos -Diggy is the perfect natural choke

for lethal aid and fighters coming from Channel Z.

So we should have some success in detecting lethal aid or fighters in that

Or if not, our presence there...

will discourage the Taliban from using that route.

Okay, well, I think in this particular operation, we'll focus mostly

on the traffic that goes through the area. You know, they're taking that,

to find, you know, the Taliban that go through there. So we won't really be...

operating in commercial villages, mostly within the terrain, and denying the

enemy that those routes.

We'll bring in a resupply of water.

We fly in, and we'll bring a resupply.

We'll see what we find in Awasegi.

That operation may be somewhere else, too.

That would be good.

Now that the coalition is united in its purpose, it's time to

communicate the mission objectives to the troops.

And a vital part of executing a terrain denial mission is understanding the

terrain.

So the White Devils build a large -scale model.

All right, so I'll go with the general concept, and then platoon leaders will

read through the scheme and maneuver.

Route Duck is the road Captain McEwen believes Arctic Fox will employ to

lethal aid in the next 24 hours.

Third Platoon and the ANA will man two traffic control points along Route Duck,

while First and Second Platoons overwatch from ridgelines to either side

route. Nothing and no one will be able to sneak past the coalition forces.

All right, decisive operation for this, uh...

Each platoon leader explains the entire mission from his platoon's point of

view. Every detail is covered, where each platoon will stage, what

responsibilities they'll take, and what rules of engagement they must follow.

While

his

platoon leaders are... Briefing their troops, Captain Adams gets the Afghans

ready for the maneuvers rehearsal this afternoon.

I want to talk to the plane with you guys today at 2 .30. And then if you

have your soldiers over there, they'll link up with my guys so they can do the

rehearsal. And then that way, when we're done, guys can rest before we go do the

operation.

Looks good?

Okay, great.

And then we'll talk, the plan, and they'll do the rehearsals. Are you guys

on everything?

Do you need anything?

Thank you so much. Good? Okay. All right, brother.

I'll see you. Thank you.

Thank you.

The troops must practice maneuvers together until they are flawless.

These include loading and unloading from the helicopter. First down, ramps down,

go. Setting up a defensive line and moving across open terrain.

Around here at Cop Sweeney, the ANA we've been working with are awesome.

Whenever we're supposed to go meet up with them for rehearsals, they're there

early waiting for us. The White Devils and the ANA rehearse all the maneuvers

the mission, building confidence in their teamwork. Talking through a turret

slows the process down a little bit.

So that's why you have to kind of like really rehearse and we'll go over

contingencies, like if this happens, to try to cover all this basis so I'm not

communicating a whole new plan while we're out there through my interpreter.

You know, watching this rehearsal was a big deal for me. You know, and I look

back at this inscription, all gave some, some gave all.

You know, I think that really speaks for itself, but this is a little emotional.

I was here 10 years ago as a company commander.

The ANA was in its nascent form.

To come back here and see the ANA as credible and as professional as they are

now, you take a look at them, there was no major differences between their

soldiers and my paratroopers, a bunch of young men believing in something bigger

than themselves that are willing to put themselves in a dangerous situation when

they really don't have to.

That really makes me feel good for the campaign and for the future of

Afghanistan.

We've sacrificed quite a lot over the past 12 years in this country, and

certainly we experienced some tough losses while we were here.

It really, to me, reinforces why we've got to finish strong.

LLVI guys, one here, one there.

Snipers.

One behind him, one over here.

This could turn into a hornet's nest really quick, especially once we get

in that valley.

Even if the white devils get stung, they know they can depend on their A &A

brothers in arms.

What's up, man?

How are you?

What's up?

What's up, man? What's going on?

I'm glad to see you too, man.

Did you bring cigarettes?

Yeah, yeah. All right, cool. Three?

Three packs?

Yeah, three packers. Fuck yeah, that's what I'm talking about. No, fuck yeah.

And they're a great group of guys.

I think they're ready to take the fight.

They got heart.

This dude's got some heart.

Coming over here at 19 years old and watching these guys, sometimes the same

as you, they go out there and they're fighting for their country.

They're pretty ruthless with their fighting, too.

They don't take no shit.

Fuck yeah.

I like your style.

They want their country back, and they want to be able to defend their country.

So, I mean, knowing those guys are standing right by you and you're helping

get their country back, I mean, it's a great feeling to have.

Everybody ready?

The White

Devils and the AMA take to the skies, bound for a high

mountain pass on the Pakistan border, to stop the Taliban and preserve the

Afghan people's hope of a free and fair election.

Next time on The Fighting Season.

Coalition forces assist the Afghan National Army as they tackle a Taliban

the Tangi Valley.

Task Force White Devil sets its sights on a high mountain road.

This area, motorcycles are illegal.

And chases a motorcycle with deadly cargo.

This is a Taliban fighter.

It looks like they're pushing north now. They stopped under a clove of trees.

We should definitely take them out if we have the chance.

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