HR2 - or Haji Rahmuddin - is a very small dot on the map of Afghanistan.

In reality, it is small rock and dirt encampment approximately 65 miles southwest of Kandahar.

Hesco barriers, T-walls, guard towers, concertina wire and cameras surround the area.

Everyone enters through a steel gate, which is secured at night by a thick chain and a couple of locks.

Outside the fortifications are small Afghan villages.  Some are friendly to the Americans, others not so much.

The Taliban are close.  Contact with them is an almost daily occurrence.

1st Platoon, Charlie Company, 5^th Battalion, 20^th Infantry Regiment, occupies HR2 and carries out the hard work of counter-insurgency operations, or COIN.

Life here is straightforward.

Missions are developed, briefed and carried out.  Partnered with Afghan Army National, or ANA, soldiers, missions are focused on building a bridge of trust between the area inhabitants and the Afghan government.

The ANA soldiers live here at HR2 with us in their own area.  1^st Platoon is generous in working with them to perfect their soldiering skills.

The TOC, or tactical operations center, constantly monitors the situation in its AOR, or area of responsibility.

The interplay of ideas and strategy between West Point graduate 1Lt. Ben Westman, the platoon's leader, and his experienced non-commissioned officers is lively and respectful - but always, always focused on accomplishing the COIN mission.

The Soldiers like and respect Westman.

He and his Soldiers conduct almost daily missions that build villagers' trust in their government and yet deny the Taliban sanctuary.

This is a tough task.

Napoleon, no stranger to the hard work of a military campaign, once said that armies move on their stomachs.

In other words, they are as good as they are fed.  To that end, Spc. Larry Hill is the best cook anywhere.

The dining facility, or DFAC, is small.  It has three eating tables with nine gray folding chairs and two benches for seating.

I am sitting in one of those chairs as I type these words.

Hill has been working since before dawn; he'll finish well after dark.

Hill works in a covered, open air area.  He prepares and presents two hot meals a day.    The food is excellent. 

Napoleon and the French Army should have been so fortunate.

The latrines are four port-a-potties - two for the Americans, two for the Afghanis.  Our Afghan brothers haven't quite got the hang of how to use a port-a-pottie properly, so one steers clear of those.

There are no showers.  "It you want to shower, use two bottles of water and a bar of soap," Sgt. Nic Cordeiro quipped.

If we smell, well, we all smell together.

There are plans, however, to soon build both showers and indoor plumbing for the Soldiers here.

Everyone sleeps on cots; a few have mattresses placed on the cots.  Gear is stowed underneath; clothes are hung from 550 cord.  Except for dust, living quarters are clean.

The tents are waterproof and relatively warm or cool, depending on weather conditions.

The days can get hot - the mercury the last few days has been in the mid 80s. In the Pacific Northwest, we'd call this a heat wave. 

Here in Afghanistan, this is nothing compared to the 120 plus degree heat that will come this summer.

The nights are cool, sometimes bordering on the edge of cold.

The three Afghan interpreters who work with 1^st Platoon live with us.  They are a cheerful lot.

Morale is good, very good.  The talk is masculine; the teasing is in good fun.  No problems here.  MSgt. Joe Stalinski, SSgt. Chad Boyd and Sgt. Vincent Raila make sure their soldiers are taken care of.

"We like it here; it builds a great bond; we're making a difference," Raila commented.

During a recent visit to HR2, Lt. Col. Steven Soika, the battalion commander, amplified that statement.

"We're winning," he said unequivocally.  "We are doing exactly what we've been sent here to do."

He's right.

Photo:

The Front Gate:  Behind the Hesco barriers and T-walls, cameras and concertina wire, there is the front gate to HR2, or Haji Rahmuddin.