Going in small in Afghanistan.

Pakistani border guards erratically man hundreds of posts along the 1,519-mile frontier, but are poorly armed and unreliable because they and their families are local natives, US officials say. "There's a great deal of frustration with the border guards," says Lt. Col. Mike Howard, noting that someone shot at US troops from a Pakistani border checkpoint near Shkin in Paktika during a September firefight in which one of his men died.

It is these same forces that Colonel Howard must rely upon to set up additional checkpoints and block retreats when he is mounting operations in Paktika. Tenth Mountain troops do not cross the border, even in "hot pursuit" of the enemy, although elite US forces may have leeway to give chase a few miles into Pakistan. With Al Qaeda and Taliban sanctuaries in Pakistan beyond his reach, Howard's only option is to disrupt the fighters' infiltration via Paktika's mountain roads and impoverished, isolated villages.

Wearing a camouflage uniform without a flak vest, the Afghan militiaman tallies his losses against Al Qaeda and Taliban insurgents with a somber pride.

"We've had 20 or 22 AMF [Afghan militia forces] killed working with the Americans in the past two years," says Mohammad quietly. That's out of the 200 to 250 militiamen he says have joined US forces based at Shkin and Orgun in Paktika.

Interviews with a dozen militia members, interpreters, and other Afghans employed by US forces in Paktika suggest their jobs are as dangerous as they are critical to the US-led counterinsurgency. Indeed, the rate of AMF casualties described by Mohammad is far higher than that of US soldiers in Paktika.

"We are the main target of Al Qaeda," says Mohammad, who is troubled by what he calls the suicidal behavior of Al Qaeda fighters. "They hate us even more because without us, the Americans can't work here."

An AMF commander standing nearby agrees. "I've been working with the Americans five months, and I've been ambushed four times," he says.

Afghan soldiers like these bring speed, keen eyes, and local knowledge to US-led missions. Unburdened by heavy body armor and other gear, they can more swiftly chase guerrillas through the mountainous terrain. In a village they can also more easily pick out suspect individuals.

Yet the Afghans are highly vulnerable to retaliation for allying with Americans; all those interviewed said they had faced death threats.

In Paktika in recent months, Al Qaeda nailed "night letters" on compound doors warning that Afghans - along with their families - would be killed for working with Americans and setting up girls' schools. "I stayed up all night," says one interpreter, Ajab (not his real name) who received such a warning. He fears his neighbors could be guerrilla informants.

In response, US officers made a point of locating the homes of Afghan employees and gave them "SOS" flares to shoot if they were attacked. The US military also compensates the families of Afghans killed on missions. Ajab said his family received $2,400 after his cousin died in an ambush.

Despite their sacrifices, some Afghans feel their loyalty is doubted. "We can never ask [the US soldiers] where we are going. This shows the Americans have only a little trust in us," says Mohammad (a pseudonym). In Paktika, Afghan laborers have been warned by US officers that they will lose their jobs if coalition troops are ambushed in their communities.

Still, having cast their lot with "the helmeted ones," most Afghans say their only choice is to keep fighting. "We have to help the Americans," he says. "If the Americans leave Afghanistan, we will be in big trouble."

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