Battle Company Is Out There

We linked earlier to this fine New York Times Magazine piece, now reposting in case you missed it. As an e-mail from LTC John Nagl said…

The cover story of yesterday’s “New York Times Magazine” is the best reporting I’ve seen on Afghanistan, ever.

The story is about CPT Dan Kearney’s B/2-503 IN. 2-503rd is commanded by my

friend LTC Bill Ostlund and is responsible for the Korengal River valley, the site of the toughest fighting now happening in Iraq or Afghanistan. The people in the Korengal River Valley don’t support the coalition or the Afghan government; 2-503 has no one to drink tea with and nowhere near enough troops to provide security to the population.

The story illustrates clearly how many more troops we need in Afghanistan–NATO, Afghan, and US–and how hard counterinsurgency is when you don’t have anyone to partner with; Battle Company soldiers are simply strangers in a strange land. If you don’t have time to read it, at least look at the photos.

Once you see them–some of the best combat footage of any war, ever–you’ll

read the story.

God bless Dan Kearney, Battle Company, 2-503 IN, and the people of the

Korengal River Valley.