For Army Platoon In Afghanistan, A Familiar Enemy

NPR ^ | November 11, 2009 | Tom Bowman

[underthestreetlite]

One of the most lethal areas in Afghanistan for U.S. troops is the Arghandab Valley, a Taliban stronghold just outside the southern city of Kandahar. The Army's 5th Stryker Brigade Combat Team from Fort Lewis, Wash., patrols the area, facing the risk of huge roadside bombs.

One platoon already has lost 11 soldiers, and several more were seriously wounded — about one-third of the force.

One day last week, more bad news crackled over the radio: a Taliban attack and casualties in 2nd Platoon.

(SNIP)

"How many total were in the truck?" Burrow asks.

"There were four of us," the wounded sergeant responds, identifying the two others: Spc. Gary Gooch and Spc. Aaron Aamot.

Gooch, 22 of Ocala, Fla., and Aamot, 22, of Custer, Wash., were in the front of the Stryker when the bomb exploded. The body of one is trapped under the burning vehicle. The other body is nowhere to be seen.

[underthestreetlite]

Spc. Riley Sheffield of Boise, Idaho, looks toward a tree line as insurgents fire on the convoy, just after the roadside bomb exploded. Soldiers from Charlie Company exchanged fire with insurgents for over an hour?

[Bookie1066]

Enough of this crap. It’s gone on long enough. It’s time for a Roman peace. Pull the Army out and just nuke the whole country. The Muslim world has got to learn one lesson, you kill Americans and your country gets blown off the face of the Earth. We’ll see what happens first, you run out of terrorists or we run out of countries

[chiefqc]

In the meantime obama is still very busy playing golf, vacations, phony photo op’s but rest assured that whenever his schedule allows he will look into this minor problem of additional troops for Afghanistan.