Original subtitles

Previously on The Fighting Season. Just south of Kabul lies the Tangi Valley, a

Taliban stronghold. The Afghan army will go into the valley and they will secure

the insurgents. We're just there to advise and assist.

The Afghans will have very limited resources to exploit success up there.

That's the challenge.

Deputy Marty Fox, the shadow governor for all of Zalman, is now tasked with

ensuring lethal aid makes its way into Afghanistan.

I mean, there are motorcycles hauling ass all over here right now. That's like

the fifth one I've seen here.

Motorcycles are directly associated with the Taliban.

All of us have heard the statement when we first came here.

All the Afghan army has to do is be a little bit better than the Taliban.

Just a little bit better.

That's not true.

They've got to be a lot better.

Way better.

Today, Afghans are dying at a high rate compared to our service members.

And that's a true testament of their hard work and the ownership that...

They are the ones who will defend not just Kabul, but keep Afghanistan safe

stable. And the people in Afghanistan have to feel secure, they have to feel

safe, and they're not going to feel safe and secure with American soldiers

patrolling. They're going to feel safe and secure with their own soldiers

patrolling. So the Afghan National Security Forces are just an extension of

Afghan government.

The rules of engagement are the rules of engagement, and they're the rules of

engagement for a reason, because we fight according to certain principles.

The second we violate those principles, we are no different from the insurgents

that we are chartered with fighting against.

Task Force White Devil is en route to a high mountain pass on the border with

Pakistan.

Intelligence indicates that a large shipment of lethal aid, explosives,

and fighters intended to derail the upcoming elections will move through

pass in the next 24 hours.

We always got in the back of your mind, it could be your time to

go, but it's your time to go, it's your time to go.

I really don't dwell on the what if.

I mean, whatever happens, happens.

You know, I haven't seen anybody with that look of fear in their eyes. You

they pretty much know that we're going out there and we're going to get after

it. And whatever happens, happens.

So it is what it is.

Second, you get dropped off out in the middle of nowhere.

You got to have your game face on.

Once you've brought this one fixed, once they're in front of you, you can just

lead them to where we need to go.

You got to have that discipline or else someone could get hurt.

Route Duck may be a dirt road, but it is a highway for the transportation of

lethal aid from Pakistan.

Charlie Company will lock down Route Duck and the surrounding trails.

First and second platoons will take overwatch positions on opposite ridges.

while 3rd Platoon mans two traffic control points on Route Duck.

The discharge with intel is 0 -1. We had two ISAR platforms.

ISAR is Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance.

The intel indicates the Taliban are present and active, and that enemy

can be expected.

2 -0 -6 -9.

Possible Taliban location.

They went back down the northern side of the ridge.

On the way up, we saw two dudes. They were right there, and they had a light.

Roger.

After they flashed the light, we have not seen any backs over there.

I think when they saw lust, they decided to roll out because they didn't want to

die.

There was a couple of spotters just northeast of their location.

Henchmen wasn't able to acquire with their FMV, but we picked up their

so we knew that they were talking about us. They said, hey, the tanks are at the

gate.

As soon as they got off those helicopters, as soon as they started

up to the high ground,

Taliban reconnaissance element bugged out.

I

mean,

these guys were so confident, by the way, that they are on the top of the

flying the Taliban flag.

But as soon as we started up, they left. And we didn't get them, but they left.

They called their bosses, and their bosses called their bosses, and so on

forth. And that area was shut down at that moment.

Yeah,

they booby -trapped the flag.

Get the tappers up there and get your boys spread out.

Let's talk to Sergeant Reynolds. There's a potential IED up here.

It's 1 -6.

We're up at the grid for our OP.

The ANA are saying there's an IED directly in front of the formation

Sending staffers up right now to check it out over.

Where at? Over here?

Yeah. All right.

I literally, like, I walked up and I put my foot, like, right here and these,

like, those stacked rocks, there's IED probably right there. I'm like, holy

shit. So I'm like, fuck, that's why I tried to get everybody to stop and back

up, and then everybody kept coming to me.

We found another fighting position.

Really? It's a possible IED, so we're clear right now.

Yeah, that was just rock, man.

This is all clear up here.

Many rocks in this region have a high metallic content, which makes for false

positives and slow going.

What do you do if you find an IED?

Blow it up.

3rd Platoon's mission is to set up checkpoints along Route Duck, but first

must check the area for IEDs.

Roger, we're going to clear a path across the wadi, and we're going to

that road that's on the far side. Over.

I'm getting a hit right here.

Back the fuck up.

All right.

If it is something, there ain't no chance of two of you going out.

Might be a rock. It looks like rock everywhere and shit.

As the sappers move forward, they mark the safe path with chalk.

We're just about done with the first spot for TPP -1, and then we're going to

head to TPP -2.

Convict 6, convict 1 -6.

You got one bike coming north on our lead now?

Roger. Yeah, we got one motorcycle moving north up Route Duck. We got a

motorcycle with two personnel on it.

Oh, I see him, I see him. You see the motorcycle?

Yep, he's going the other way.

He turned around.

We had a motorcycle coming up.

He was about maybe a click, click and a half.

And I think he spotted us on the mountain. Something didn't look right to

so he turned his motorcycle around.

Roger, one moto, two pack.

In this area, motorcycles are illegal.

Only guys who ride on them are police.

Onlookers conducting IPB soak picked up this motorcycle with two packs on it.

The passenger continues to just hang around him with this long -barreled

Two men on a motorcycle with a weapon are definitely suspicious, but the White

Devils need to confirm that they pose a credible threat.

The henchman right now has eyes on. It says it's a bolt -action rifle, so

probably not an AK.

Probably like a Lee -Enfield type.

And right now they're continuing on north, which right now the rifle in and

itself does not meet the threshold of hostile act, hostile intent.

I mean, the guy could be going deer hunting for all we know. Exactly.

He just has a really sweet weapon.

You're not a real man if you get an AK.

But if the riders display hostile intent, the white devils can use lethal

The Tangi Valley, an insurgent stronghold.

The Russians lost two divisions here, and the U .S. suffered its deadliest

attack of the Afghan war, when a Chinook carrying 38 servicemen was shot down by

a Taliban RPG.

The Taliban control this valley, just 69 kilometers from the capital, Kabul.

The Taliban in the Tangi Valley are a direct threat to the security of the

elections in the capital.

With a vote just five days away, Clearing the Tangi is critical to

potential attacks.

But this time, the Afghan National Army will go it alone.

The coalition will only provide support and advice.

The Afghans will be the only force clearing the valley.

General Haight of the 10th Mountain Division flies over the valley on his

FOB Lightning, where he will meet with his team to discuss the ANA's mission

to confirm the U .S.'s support.

Carry on, please.

Yes, sir.

I did get a really good brief back from Major Glenn in terms of what the

operation the 4th Brigade is going to conduct to clear the insurgents from the

Tangi Valley before their elections.

The only road in the Tangi Valley winds through rural villages, and if the

Afghan 4th Brigade can control this route...

They can help prevent potential attacks in Kabul.

I think this will be a very critical area because I believe the enemy will

here. If we see any movement in here, we can help provide them with the ISR and

CAS. Yes, sir.

That would be the best way we can help them. Air support will be coordinated

from the Tactical Operations Center at FOB Lightning.

But the mission will stage from Baraki Barak, an ANA tactical command post on

the east side of the valley.

Currently, they do have a joint tactical operations center there in Baraki

Barak. I already talked to Major Glenn in case we do have to provide them some

type of close air support or air weapons team. And we'll be prepared when this

starts tomorrow morning. Sounds good, Sam. Okay. Great.

Thank you. All right. Hold, sir.

Under the cover of darkness, the Afghan National Army begins its mission to

clear the Taliban from the Tangi.

without U .S. military ground support.

Under General Razik's command, two Afghan battalions will start from

ends of the tangy road and push towards the center to clear the Taliban from the

valley until the two forces link up at a spot marked by two antenna towers.

Back at FOB Lightning, U .S. forces monitored the start of the mission.

Attention to the top. Attention to the top. The ANA commandos, they're

moving to the support by fire position.

It would be a completely ANA -led thing with their own intel.

They have their own intel. Yes, their own intel that's saying there's like 200

bad dudes, Taliban, in all these various pockets throughout Tangi.

Afghan Special Forces commandos provide overwatch from the southern ridgeline as

the ANA pushes into the valley.

This is Tangi out of back.

General Razik's men work from opposite ends of the Tangi Road.

clearing villages and establishing checkpoints to maintain control.

And it's not long before the TAC gets word of an attack.

This is the TAC. This is the Corps.

ANA is receiving small -arm fire.

A &A is still in contact, still pinned down. They are receiving small arms and

now receiving heavy weapons fire.

The A &A commandos, the closest friendly to the insurgents, they are currently

moving back to the support by fire position.

The ANA regulars on the ground and the commandos on the ridgeline push the

Taliban towards the center of the valley.

But soon their forward movement grinds to a halt.

But the

Afghans may have

created a problem.

We can't have them shoot right now because of the helicopters around BBK.

Hey, this is Major John Rastel. Hey, so you're tracking our rods right now,

correct? Yeah.

We've got CAS, we've got ISR overhead.

The Afghans have failed to coordinate with FOB Lightning, which has attack

helicopters in the area. We're going to stop the Afghans from shooting, but...

but I'm confused at where we're conflicted.

This should be simple deconfliction, and I think we're failing to meet it. So

we'll hold them from shooting right now.

If you guys get any more information on that, if you could push it my way, it

would be much appreciated.

Okay.

Are they still looking at the enemy? Do they still see the enemy?

But the Taliban regroup and fight back.

On the other side of the valley, IEDs slow the progress of the Western

Battalion.

And without sophisticated equipment, neutralizing IEDs is slow and tedious.

If

an

IED can't be disarmed, it must be detonated.

This specialist has neutralized thousands of IEDs.

Still,

every IED encounter threatens a sudden and violent death.

Once the detonator is set and the area around it cleared,

The battalion can move on. But just another few yards.

Hey, Jurassic.

There's like an IED every fucking 50 meters.

Yeah. So we're not getting all those reports of IEDs. They're just blowing

in place.

I'd be curious to see if we could get an actual roll -up of at least how many of

them they just blew as they went.

Right now I'm tracking there's only probably about 10. We're kind of running

own little body count and like results that we'll roll up when we're finally

done with this thing.

No, I got you.

On the eastern side of the Tangi, the firefight continues.

And so does the resistance to advancing.

And without artillery support or more troops, General Razik's men come to a

standstill.

The gate commander, he said they should push forward.

The candidate commander, he said, I'm not going to push forward.

Okay.

All right, touch the core, my friend.

Hey, man, how's it going?

Right now I'm tracking a 7th candidate has reached Ghost and Feared, but

gone. Yeah. They just don't have enough elements to secure and keep going.

That's what I think General Hayden Yatali is coming for.

All right, so bottom line, they're going to stay there for the time being.

Whether or not they continue to clear tomorrow, I'll be contingent on a

conversation between the 4th Brigade Commander, General Rozik, and the 2nd

3rd Corps Commander, General Yiftali.

Roger. Yeah, General Rozik, what I'm getting at, without any more forces,

operation is over.

Near the border with Pakistan.

Third Platoon Charlie Company is also at a standstill as they clear a location

for the second traffic control point.

If it's a mosque, we can't go in it.

ANA can. We can't.

So they have to wait for the ANA to come examine the building.

The building is not a mosque.

It's for burial?

For dead people?

Yeah. Yeah.

This is a cemetery.

Okay. Yeah.

This is a cemetery.

Somebody's in there. Yeah.

Yeah. Yeah.

This is the second control point.

Right here? Yeah.

Anybody traveling in that area?

We stopped them and searched them to make sure they're not trying to take out

weapons, take out explosives, take out Taliban personnel.

Two packs on this motorcycle, they stopped about seven times. And every

they stop out, the driver gets out, tries to get comms on.

They make stops in each village. And in the middle of town, and the guy driving

the motorcycle, when he hops off of the bike in each of these villages, people

come out and greet him.

So that's a clear indicator that, A, people know who he is, and, B, he's of

importance if people are coming to him and he's not making his round to

individual compounds inside his village.

He's got PID on a push -to -talk system with a large antenna.

What's interesting about these two individuals is that ever since they've

moving for the past two and a half hours, they've been hand rallying all

main routes. They've been driving, you know, zigzagging back and forth. They

to avoid all the main routes.

Every place that he has stopped, he's not dropped off.

It's not a resupply.

We can only believe at this time that he's passing along information at each

those locations that has something to do with something that he's trying to

organize. What that is.

We don't know.

For now, my platoon is just overwatching, providing early

warning to third platoon, who's over here setting up traffic control points

search and interrogate anyone using the route.

And then second platoon is doing the same thing as us, but over on the other

side of Route Duck.

We're sitting there, you know, it's been a pretty quiet day.

One of the riflemen at one of the blocking positions calls up to the

and is like, hey, like, there's this guy just sitting down here.

Oh, did you see that guy pop up?

Yeah, they've been watching him, sir.

That's that same guy.

Yep, that was down here. Yeah.

Captain Adams sent me and one of the linguists down there.

I'll tag along.

You can ask me questions if you want.

Why was he sitting here for so long?

You need the flashlight.

Well, but I can't willingly give him a flashlight that has batteries.

You can use them for IEDs, for powering devices.

I mean, they'll take eight dead batteries, tape them together, wire them

together, complete the circuit, and then connect it to an IED, and it's a solid

charge.

Just tell them we don't have any flashlights here.

Yeah, bye -bye.

Can you speak more about Pakistani influence in the valley?

The father, you know, proved to give us some pretty good information.

He stated that the Taliban are constantly coming through that area.

Are they spreading their propaganda?

He says that they try to, but the people there are very proud, and they're not

going to be bought.

This is what Afghanistan really is. Not Kandahar, not Kabul, but just farmers,

shepherds, doing what they have to do to survive.

That's why I don't hold any grudges against Afghani people.

As Sergeant Hall and his team climb back up the hill, his squad mates have

spotted the motorcycle.

It's back on the move.

They look like they're both pushing north now.

Same packs, PID.

We've got movement out of the compound. Same two individuals that we were

tracking previously out of the motorcycle and headed out. The overhead

have identified that at least one of the individuals has an item swung on his

back, and right now they're attempting to confirm what that item is.

Sir, one of you is carrying an RPG weapon.

Pass the derby.

Pass the derby.

We continued to observe.

We were working the kinetic strike piece.

Several factors went into play.

A, we had to confirm that the suspected RPG launcher was in fact an RPG

launcher. All right, before taking again the idea, second time in a row, RPG.

We also confirmed it through ANA channels. You know, we had

confirmed with them that they didn't have it.

any of their guys riding around in civilian clothes with RPGs on their

they came back to us with, yeah, we're hearing chatter on...

Taliban radio that this guy's on the move and this is who he is.

ANA was just letting us know that the guys we've been tracking, those guys are

definitely Taliban.

Basically, they set IEDs along the main route there. So we should definitely

take them out if we have the chance.

They declared, yes, those are RPG rounds. We've got an RPG launcher.

So at that point, the threshold was met to engage based off of hostile intent

being established.

But just like in most matters of life and death, There is a lawyer involved.

And the talk team must convince a JAG, a judge advocate general, that they have

met the stringent requirements for a lethal strike.

We talked to the ANS staff. They had chatter about this guy's movement.

It's also a known bad guy area that the ANA just passed off to us. The ANA are

saying, one, they're not ALP, two, they're not ANA, and three, that they

Taliban.

And then the fact that it's a prestige weapon system. Yeah, it's not like he's

just rolling around with an AK.

Yeah, it makes it a threat to ANA and theft.

That RPG represents a clear threat to the rotary wing aircraft that we have

operating in the area.

Is there a rotary wing aircraft operating in the area right now?

Well, not this second, but they come and go. They come and go pretty regularly.

You guys are building a perfectly fine picture.

The biggest thing is you're not really able to rely on the ANSF intelligence.

I mean, you have to kind of individually verify pins.

Yeah, I think we just did. ANA just verified what we already expected. Yeah,

actually established it first.

We directed the ISR asset that was overhead, so followed that individual.

single village that he stopped in was identified as a known bed -down location

for regionally affluent members of the Taliban.

The paladin picture you overlaid, what he's doing indicates that he has found

the Taliban.

Okay, yeah, no, I think we're all on the same page. I appreciate it.

Certainly the rules of engagement were clear that this is a Taliban fighter,

we are cleared to engage.

However, a lot of things have to line up for us to do it safely and for us to

ensure that we don't create civilian casualties and that we ultimately

and protect the populace.

They're going to make sure they clear air safe, and then that way they'll be

able to strike once they're in no collateral damage concern.

As we

were

sorting out the rules of engagement, we were not able to clear the collateral

damage concern.

I made his way into the building.

He had gone into a house which we can't engage because there's just a danger of

there being women and children there, civilians.

And civilian casualties is not something that's acceptable for us. It's

frustrating, but it's not wrong.

You don't want to be wrong about something like taking a human life, you

We use a lot of restraint, and I'm actually proud of that. I mean, we've

recognized over the years it is much more detrimental.

to make a strike and to be wrong than to allow a situation to develop and be

patient and monitor and make sure that you're right.

Afghan General Razak's mission to clear the Tangi Valley, a Taliban stronghold

just 69 kilometers from Kabul, has ground to a halt.

If the Afghans cannot coordinate more support and troops, the mission will

and the Taliban will retain a vital stronghold for launching attacks against

elections.

With the mission in crisis, General Haidt joins the commanders in Baraki

for an emergency meeting.

General Yaftali is the 203rd Corps commander and General Razek's commanding

officer and is in charge of the ANA brigades who are clearing the Tangi

We've had some reflections that they're really starting to get into the

dangerous area of the valley right now.

Afghan meetings are confusing.

They're a little more emotional.

And every now and then, yeah, we double our high blood pressure medicine for the

night before.

General Haidt's interpreter helps him follow the conversation.

There is bad blood about the lack of coordination.

the operation, you're going to see a lot of commanders.

If you want me to stay for more days as co -commander, sir, tell the commander

to show me your balls.

I like you guys, but I'm fucking pissed off.

Be patient, General.

We're all one team, so we're going to assist.

So that's why I came down here.

Very polite.

Don't piss me off.

If you're going to occupy all those high grounds, have enough force to search

and all that, if I don't have these guys with my current force, we're not going

to be effective.

We're going to take out you.

I have a question about the corps commander and the other general officers

General Razik, when do you feel like you have...

You will have completed the mission. What conditions do you want?

If you want me to continue, if I get more to work, I'm ready to continue the

operation. I would encourage you to close that forward kilometer distance,

in the middle with the forces in the west and the forces in the east.

Right now, it's briefly killed 15 enemy, wounded 23.

capture 10 IEDs, two mortar systems. So this is very possible to get through

this and get this done.

I mean, we have a strong enough team. We just need to coordinate how we're going

to do it together.

All I'm trying to help you do is employ the forces that you do have, both

efficiently and effectively, because the tangy is tough terrain. I know that.

Okay, yeah, identify the problem. That's really, really good. Now the second

part of the paragraph is, you know, what force do we throw at that to remedy

that problem?

Police, you can help. And this is where General Roderick needs some more help.

First of all, he can't go into people's houses and search.

He doesn't have arrest authority.

The police have to do it. So you've got to provide him that.

I'm just going to order 200 very tough fighters. So 200 additional force from

two different counties is going to show up. Just go call them. The commander is

going to be with you, so they're going to set the condition for you. This fight

is going to be much easier. It's not going to be a problem. I want them all

just move forward, meet each other in the middle, and finish this operation.

The purpose of this operation is to beat the enemy and give freedom to our

people. Everybody works together in this room.

The fact that they're kind of working some stuff out, that's why we're here,

to try to help them employ their forces well and keep advising them.

Winning is the government of Afghanistan, taking the fight to the

moving forward.

Hey, everybody has problems. Not enough ANP, not enough ANA, not enough

commandos. You told people what was going on.

The good news is they've already identified a fix to the problem. They're

to pull more forces, and they're ready to go.

So that's the good news.

You are my brother.

Back near the Pakistan border, Task Force White Devil's terrain denial

has shut down Route Duck.

RPG! Yeah!

There's a village up here to the north, and there's a couple down here that they

may want to clear because they think that there's some Taliban leadership in

these areas.

All right.

Good to go. Yeah. Go get them.

With the Afghan National Army gone, The platoons keep a close eye on Route Duck

and wait. You guys got clear eyes all the way down to that south village,

What we're waiting for is the motorcycle with the RPG on it.

Or the donkey full of HME that's getting moved.

Ask him if there's been anything going on in either village, like anything

different.

Do they come from his village?

There's a pretty strong animal right there.

I don't know. It's the local people who say I don't have any information about

the Taliban.

But I can't believe it because they're leaving this village and the Taliban is

scaring this village and I'm sure that they have contact with the Taliban.

Right.

Back at the talk.

The White Devils maintain visual contact with the confirmed Taliban.

Hey, what did he come back out with?

He just exited the building again. What did he come back out with?

We continued to observe he and his partner, got back on the motorcycle,

back in the direction of where they had originated from.

So we had to ask that again.

Gained positive identification of the RPG launcher, so we again went into the

drill of executing this kinetic strike.

Okay, so if they keep following down in here, we've got another two and a half.

So you've got four take.

Before we could do that, they stopped under a clump of trees. Several

individuals came from the local area, linked up with the guys on the

They told me I got a nice little box with sunburn.

I don't know if that's what it is.

Yeah Sunburn. Yep, nice sunburn. Sitting on top of a mountaintop for, what, 20

hours?

Yeah.

90 % death.

10 % killing shit.

Yeah, sounds about right.

Whether you're moving or static, just wearing all the equipment we have, you

sweat.

You can only carry so much water.

If you carry too much, that heavy load causes you to sweat more, so, you know,

it's like self -defeating.

Hey, I'll get with Convict 5, but we're going to do a drop at your location, and

we're going to do a drop in between first and third.

ANA still hasn't come back from the village. I don't think they're probably

going to come back until it's time to go. Over.

Purple smoke marks the drop zone.

The ANA returned from the village empty -handed and thirsty.

Back at the talk, all

eyes are on the trees where the Taliban have stopped.

Once they hit the road, the TOC team restarts the rules of engagement drill,

racing to get approval to strike before the motorcycle gets to the next village.

All the athletes that we have on station have to confirm that they're still

carrying the warheads and the RPGs.

Hey, of course there's a thing, the weapon on the spag is a sling and a

magazine. You get the same thing?

Yeah.

They just came back and they TID'd that. We're

going across the spag with the weapon on the magazine.

They stopped 23 minutes ago. There were two guys rolling wheelbarrows up to them

when they were stopping and moving the tree.

What they're saying is they probably could have stashed that RPG round or at

least something in the wheelbarrow.

We still have eyes on that individual, but what they identified was that he no

longer had the weapon system that made him a valid military target, according

the lawyers and us and everybody.

It's an easy answer.

And the Taliban know our rules of engagement.

They know what they can do. They know what they can get away with.

We're talking about human life.

We have this immense amount of power. We have the ability to drop a bomb

anywhere we want to, at any time we want to.

So, like Spider -Man says, with great power comes great responsibility.

And the way you exercise responsibility is through discretion.

At 1830, we're stepping.

With the mission ending, Charlie Company prepares to return to base.

It seems like I've came to Afghanistan and done a lot of waiting, waiting

for the Taliban to act up.

But today we have an achievement.

Bottom line, our mission was terrain denial, and that's exactly what we did.

We did it so well that the enemy didn't attempt to come down Route Duck.

For Route Duck, we hadn't committed any forces. There were no SIGACs there for

around three years, which is saying we're not observing it. There hasn't

force there to make contact.

There's no ISR flying over it. Well, when we showed up that day, it was a big

red light to them to stop.

We took certain measures to make sure that disrupt lasts after we're gone.

And what we've done is we've created doubt.

There's probably a predator over there, and if I send my guys out on a

motorcycle, they're going to get hit.

They're going to be neutralized, and we're going to waste that asset.

Fear does.

I mean, it disrupts operations.

So we know. They don't know where our forces are. And I imagine you felt the

fear as we were walking on patrol in the middle of the night.

Are the enemy watching us?

Are they going to kill me now?

Well, they feel the same thing when they're trying to pass stuff through a

valley and they just saw a huge company sit down.

Imagine something coming out of the sky, a Hellfire missile just taking you out.

That's what stops them from going through that path.

So certainly, as the fighting season progresses and they continue to take

losses, they are going to maybe get sloppy, maybe get desperate, maybe look

places that they know they might not want to go, and that just works in our

favor.

General Razik and his Afghan troops re -engage the Taliban in a fight to clear

the insurgents from their stronghold, the Tangi Valley.

As the ANA pushes through village after village, the police clear the houses and

the IED specialists clear the roads.

Yard by yard, the two battalions push towards the center of the valley.

Until finally, the two antenna towers that mark the mission's primary

objective come into sight. And even more welcome, the two battalions that have

fought from either side of the valley finally link up.

All right, gentlemen, they're about a half a click away from each other, so

they've just about linked up. Great job. They couldn't have done it without you

guys.

We really see the fruits of the last 13 years of combat here. The Afghans found

numerous caches.

They destroyed from 15 to 20 IEDs. They did kill 25 enemy.

They wounded around 30.

And our Afghan counterparts are really out there doing most of the fighting

right now.

For now, the Taliban are cleared out of the Tangi Valley, and the people come

out into the streets.

General Razik really understands the environment and the people of

And he really could connect with his own soldiers and the civilians. And that

charisma that he had was probably his most powerful attribute that really

him an effective commander.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Now that the Tangi Road has been secured, the potential for peace is

here and in Kabul.

You can't kill your way out of this place.

The only way you're going to win this, or we're going to win this, is by...

assisting a government, and really that government starts with the Afghan

military.

To celebrate the success of the mission, General Razik invites Major Glenn to

share a meal. Tiger number one.

Why are you sitting down there? You're sitting right here.

Security can take place, and the people of Afghanistan respect their military,

they respect their police, they look at, you know, a guy like General Razik, the

younger generation looks at him and says, wow, I want to be like that guy.

I was telling my friends, one day I need to get back to Kabul and see Kabul

again. It's the population deciding, hey, these are the good guys. These are

guys that we want to be in charge.

That's what winning is.

Next time on The Fighting Season.

But we'd go in and get Arctic Fox off the battlefield.

The white devils hunt Arctic Fox. They're watching us.

Do you see any weapons or anything?

There you go.

But the fox makes the first move.

3 ,500 pounders. That's about the level of this ship.

While in Kabul, hopes for a secure election are tested.

Initial report of an explosion in a hotel.

It hit Abdullah Abdullah's convoy.

It was big.

If they got him, this country will fucking light the fuck up.