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LAGHMAN PROVINCE, Afghanistan (12/6/2011) — Named the Death Star,
the observation post sits on a ridgeline of mountains overlooking
several villages and Combat Outpost Najil in northern Laghman
province.
A soldier peeks out of the “Death Star” Oct. 27, 2011. The outpost overlooks Combat Outpost Najil and is manned by soldiers 24 hours a day.
Photo by Army Spc. Leslie Goble |
Its name may have come from the tyrannical amount of
weaponry it boasts or the daunting hike it takes to get up
to it.
Life is simple at the outpost for American
soldiers from Company A, 1st Battalion, 179th Infantry, 45th
Infantry Brigade Combat Team: eat, sleep, and protect the
COP. It is manned 24 hours a day despite attempts from
insurgents with small arms fire or artillery.
Below the Death Star, COP
Najil is filled with fortified fighting positions and wooden
buildings called B-huts. The only running water is in the
shower area and the self service laundry. Resources are few
and far between but soldiers look to keep each other's
spirits up despite their location.
“We make do with
what we got though,” said Pfc. Charles Brake of Edmond,
Okla. “The gym is heavily used, especially since we got more
cardio machines recently.”
The basic amenities at COP
Najil define the soldier's view of what “soldiering up”
really means. They rely on supplies to be flown in. Soldiers
from other bases collect items to send to those at places
like COP Najil.
Though they may feel separated from
so much, soldiers are able to find ways to do one of
Oklahoma's favorite past times — watching football.
“We hook up the TV in the dining facility to the computer in
the [recreation tent] so we can watch OU and OSU games on
TV,” said Brake. “That's usually what I look forward to
these days.”
Life can almost seem like a fish bowl
within the walls of the COP, but life gets very different as
soldiers move outside the compound walls.
Brake
described living on the COP as an ironic juxtaposition.
“You look around and see nothing but beauty,” said
Brake. “The mountains are breathtaking and the valleys are
amazing. Yet mountains that should be used for hiking and
sightseeing are filled with fighting positions.”
These fighting positions are commonly used to stage attacks
on soldiers when they are outside the compound walls or to
attack the COP with mortars and rifles to try to disrupt
day-to-day life.
“We don't get attacked on the COP
too much anymore, but we can go right outside the wire and
get into fire fights,” said Staff Sgt. Michael Duff, from El
Reno, Okla. “I really think they are afraid of the Death
Star.”
Soldiers keep their head on a swivel in and
out of the COP due to the mountainous terrain and harassment
form insurgent activity.
“It's pretty secluded out
here, reminding me of the wild, wild west of Afghanistan,”
said Brake. “It's like the rural areas of Oklahoma, just
with mountains and mortars.”
Combat patrols go
outside the wire several times a week into the secluded
valleys around the COP to hunt the insurgents.
The
enemy's tactics rarely see results.
By Army Spc. Leslie Goble
Provided
through DVIDS
Copyright 2011
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