Army Capt. Dustin Menhart assists in setting up a raised angle marker on a drop zone in Paktika province, Afghanistan, Oct. 11, 2007, in preparation for the largest air supply drop in Operation Enduring Freedom history. Menhart is commander, Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 782nd Brigade Support Battalion, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division. U.S. Army photo by Spc. Micah E. ClareFrom McClatchy News:
ANCHORAGE, Alaska — The 4th Brigade Combat Team (Airborne) now patrolling three eastern border provinces of Afghanistan is a battle-hardened unit with a commander who's making his fourth tour in the country.
In helping them gear up for their counterinsurgency deployment February, their training focused as much on helping Afghans build a new society as it did on fighting the Taliban, al Qaida, criminal gangs and other destabilizing forces.
"It's not really what you'd expect of a pipe-swinging infantryman, but that's the war we're in," Col. Michael Howard, the brigade commander, said in an interview in January.
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My Comment: A fascinating story that needs to be publicized more often.
