Two On The Ground Action Reports From Afghanistan

US Marines guard a pile of burning opium poppy seeds in Helmand Province, July 21. Battling the drugs trade which bankrolls Taliban insurgents is a massive, complex task facing the victor of the August 20 Afghan presidential poll. (AFP/File/Shah Marai)

Seven Afghan Militants Killed As UK Soldiers Seize Massive Opium Haul -- Scotsman

BRITISH troops seized a quarter of a tonne of opium and killed an estimated seven militants in a major air assault in southern Afghanistan.

Eighteen UK, American and Australian helicopters were used to drop 300 soldiers from the Black Watch, The 3rd Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland, into a Taleban stronghold near Ghowrak, in the Sangin Valley.

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A U.S. Marine from the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit looks through his gun sights during a patrol in the town of Garmser in Helmand Province of Afghanistan, Sunday, July 13, 2008. Some 2,200 Marines, who have been deployed since late April, moved into the town of Garmser to sweep out insurgents. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)

No Young Soldiers -- Michael Yon

Daily dramas unfolded, including the bangs, booms and small-arms fire that punctuated the times. At 1800, I was preparing to go to orders with 1 Platoon, A Company of 2 Rifles, when shots from a large-caliber rifle began cracking low over base. I passed by sniper, Kris Griffith, and said, “Hey Kris, why don’t you grab your rifle and go shoot that guy?” Kris replied that two other sniper teams were on it. “He’s close,” I said, and Kris answered, “About 600 meters.” Then we went our separate ways.

Orders were given and then the soldiers performed final checks on their gear and tried to fall to sleep in the sweltering evening heat. Some nights I would go to sleep using the sleeping bag as a pillow, only to wake up with it drenched in sweat.

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