Charlie Company fights an invisible enemy

Here in Afghanistan, he sees the same dynamic: powerless people prodded along by Taliban gunmen. If this patrol helps to encourage villagers to work a little more with the Afghan government, Patraw says, then it will be worth it.

Yet some of the men privately express doubts that their tactics are making a difference. "The problem is that back in the States, people get real upset when one of us gets killed," says one veteran soldier. "So they give us this body armor and all the stuff that keeps us from getting killed. As a result, we can't chase the Taliban up the hills if they run away."

He goes quiet a moment. "Don't quote me on this, but it's not the way I would fight a counterinsurgency."

Some of the men keep their distance from Afghans. Telling the difference between friend and foe, in villages where everyone seems to be friendly but where US soldiers still get killed, can be difficult.

Yet some soldiers do reach out. Specialist Kris "Doc" Tyte of Charlotte, N.C., distributes candy to children in every village. When on base in Qalat, Pvt. Brian Martin of Trenton, Mich., and Pfc. Shain Hahn of Rush City, Minn., drink green tea at a local restaurant every morning.

"All the people in the market know us by name," says Private Martin, one of the squad's designated sharpshooters. "They're really good people ... [You] want to see things get better here."

What worries Lieutenant Wisnioski, a West Point graduate in military history, is that Afghanistan resists change, particularly imposed change. The US has tried to bring its democratic system to other countries without much success.

"At the turn of the century, the US was down in Cuba doing a lot of the same stuff, for three years," he says, referring to the placement of pro-American government officials and the training of military and police. "But as soon as they left, corruption took over. They've got to do something cultural about corruption here."

"I get worried that when we leave," he adds, "this place is going to revert" to the way things were - chaotic.

At the end of the day, we hike into Spitut. ANA soldiers have already discovered a large cache of explosives in the largest home of the village. The home is abandoned, but only in the sense that no one is home. The windows are brand-new, the compound well swept. The owners have left suddenly, and recently.

In one room, the men find two powerful antitank mines, the sort that recently killed four American soldiers in a fully armored Humvee near Deh Chopan.

Sgt. First Class Jason Nelson of Charlotte, N.C., tips one of the land mines on its side to determine its age. "I think we just saved a life today," he says.

Perhaps this long trek hasn't been so pointless after all.

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