ABC News' Bill Weir Travels With Charlie Company During a Gunfight
12.01.10
Crossing a terraced meadow, the only sign of life is a lone goat herder. The troops are out in the open -- and suddenly the shooting begins.The sniper fire comes from Dand, the village the soldiers skirted hours ago. The soldiers scurry into a dry creek bed where they huddle as the whiz overhead.
The attack follows a familiar pattern. The insurgents in these hills know the soldiers have been marching all night, that they're tired, and they just gave up the high ground.
Pinned down, Charlie Company knows they have to get to safer ground.
"You ready?" one soldier asks.
"Let's do it," comes the reply.
Heading for cover, the soldiers casually sprint under 50 pound of gear, no detectable effort in their voices.
"Go ahead, pop up there and find you some cover," Sgt. Sheely tells his men.
They are young men but already battle-hardened. They have enough steel in their nerves now, while under fire, to kid their older captain for his slow retreat. They show little patience, however, for their Afghan allies who patrol with them and seem uncertain which way to go.
Source: ABC News