KUNAR PROVINCE, AFGHANISTAN — The red streaks of tracer bullets slamming into the observation post just vacated by the five-vehicle reconnaissance patrol were a clear sign to the American soldiers of 1st Platoon, Charlie Company, that insurgents had gained an edge in this round of their unending, potentially deadly game of cat and mouse. “[The insurgents] were waiting for us to leave — they didn’t want to hit with us there,” said Staff Sgt. William Richardson, 28, of Fort Wayne, Ind., pointing back to the post they had left about 20 minutes earlier. Richardson’s patrol was preparing to ambush insurgents who have been increasing their use of improvised explosive devices in the culverts along the main road, known as California, over the past month.
The latest round of ambush and counter-ambush leaves neither side closer to achieving the goals that keep them locked in sporadic, nerve-wracking combat in this mountain range less than 3 miles from the Pakistan border.
Lt. Col. Colin P. Tulley, commander of 2nd Battalion, 35th Infantry Regiment, has watched this cycle repeat itself over the past 185 days. He wants the observation post transferred from his soldiers to the Afghan security forces. And if they can’t man it, he wants it closed.
“Every day they fire on us, sometimes two or three times a day,” said Tulley, who oversees Task Force Cacti’s operations in Kunar Province. “We’re not achieving any of our goals there. It serves zero tactical value.”
American soldiers call the territory surrounding OP Badel, as the outpost is known, “the world’s finest two-way firing range.” It is surrounded by four villages and high mountain ranges, where children can be seen playing along the rocky cliffs that obscure the approach routes of insurgents, many of whom belong to Pakistan’s Tehrik-e-Taliban factions.
OP Badel is one of many posts scheduled to be handed over to Afghan security forces as American troops pull out of Afghanistan. Roughly 10,000 U.S. troops are leaving before the end of 2011 and another 23,000 troops are supposed to depart by the summer of 2012, leaving the U.S. contingent in Afghanistan at roughly 68,000 troops.
But from the frontline outposts here, the idea that fledgling Afghan forces can hold back the Taliban once American forces are drawn down seems highly debatable.
“Afghan security forces don’t want to take over Badel if U.S. forces leave,” said one soldier who asked that he not be named. “They’re afraid. They’ve said it to us. But we can’t hold their hands forever. I think the post will be abandoned altogether.”
“It’s tough, we have to be extremely careful when we fight back. Sometimes we can’t fire back,” said Sgt. Justin Estep, 23, from Wrightwood, Calif. Estep, with 2nd Platoon, was referring to the rules of engagement that limit troops’ ability to return fire when they are in close proximity to civilians.
The insurgents don’t have rules. They lob mortar rounds and fire rocket-propelled grenades at the post from within the civilian villages.
Staff Sgt. Joshua Roque, 24, from Lawrenceville, Ga., says holding OP Badel is important in order to be able to disrupt “an easy supply route for the insurgents.”
But many of the American soldiers here are frustrated that they can’t get the authorization and firepower to clear the surrounding hills of Taliban fighters.
“If we don’t get out of Badel soon, somebody’s going to get killed,” said Pfc. Michael Miller, 19, from Claremore, Okla. “We’re basically sitting ducks there just hoping that a mortar or [sniper] fire doesn’t take one of our lives.”
