All language subtitles for Fighting Season s01e03 Valley of the Spartans.eng

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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