Waging war one step at a time

Tough terrain, and the ever present threat of IEDs, means Marines must take on Helmand by foot.

Kimberly JohnsonAugust 31, 2009 05:43Updated May 30, 2010 12:06

A member of the 2nd Battalion, 8th Marines on foot patrol in Helmand Province. (Kimberly Johnson/GlobalPost)

DARVESHAN, Afghanistan — The threat of buried homemade bombs, coupled with an often unforgiving terrain and a counterinsurgency agenda that requires regular presence among Afghans, is forcing U.S. Marines to take on Taliban fighters by foot.

And these footprints in the sand and dust of Helmand Province are, according to some defense analysts, leading down a path of higher American casualties that could potentially affect the American public's support for the war here.

Almost 90 percent of the Marine operations underway in Southern Afghanistan’s Helmand are on foot, according to Col. Christian Cabaniss, commander of 2nd Battalion, 8th Marines.

“We walk. This is not Iraq. We don’t drive around,” Cabaniss said.

Often, there’s no other option, Marines here say. Mine resistant ambush protected (MRAPs) vehicles, for example, are too big and heavy to allow nimble navigation of the labyrinth of irrigation canals and ditches in southern Helmand Province. Add to that the fact that the bulk of the population in southern Afghanistan is located in rural areas.

“To be amongst the people, you’ve got to walk out there,” Cabaniss said.

The strategy of keeping up a security force presence is a main theme of the current International Security Assistance Forces’ counterinsurgency campaign underway in Afghanistan. Gen. Stanley McChrystal, commander of NATO forces, is currently drafting an assessment of what is needed here but has indicated in the past that more troops in addition to the currently deployed 68,000 would be needed to quell the Taliban insurgency.

DEADLY IEDS

Fertilizer-based homemade explosives are increasingly being used against Marine and Afghan troops in the Garmsir region of Helmand. Of the 13 Marines killed in the region since June, most all have been from IED attacks, said one military intelligence officer.

IEDs, or improvised explosive devices, act as a force multiplier for the Taliban in that they conserve both fighters and resources, said Capt. Trevor Hunt, intelligence officer for 2nd Battalion, 8th Marines.

“They have all the time in the world. We’re here for short stints and then who knows how long the U.S. will end up staying here,” he said.

Strategically, IEDs give the Taliban an opportunity to restrict how freely security forces are able to move about the region.