Fighters On Afghan Border: A Relentless Enemy

If you want to know how the war is going in Afghanistan, there's no better place to go than the tiny American combat outposts all along the border with Pakistan.

The fight there is brutal, the intensity unlike anything we've witnessed in nine years of covering this war.

U.S. soldiers from the 101st Airborne Division are locked in a never-ending battle with an enemy that uses the border as an open door. The soldiers say that as fast as they can kill them, they just keep coming across the border from safe havens in Pakistan, trying to kill as many Americans as they can.

"60 Minutes" was given extraordinary access to the men of the 101st who are on the frontline of the border fight, operating from around 50 combat outposts and forward operating bases along a 450-mile stretch of the most dangerous frontier in the world.

Our trip began at Combat Outpost Zerok, just 12 miles from the Pakistani border.

Three minutes after Captain John Hintz started explaining how to stay alive on his base, the first rocket hit.

It was the first hour, of our first day at Combat Outpost Zerok. Capt. Hintz's troops returned fire.

Already, we were getting a taste of what Hintz and his men live through every day. And they've been doing this for seven months. Within ten minutes the barrage was over; it had wounded two of Hintz's men.

Specialist Peter Kuyper's shirt was soaked with blood from wounds to his head.

They're all used to dealing with injuries at the outpost. Forty out of Hintz's 88 soldiers have been awarded Purple Hearts for wounds received in combat.

The 40-year-old commander from Iowa has received three Purple Hearts himself.

"This is a tough fight. And you're in one of the worst places. I mean, even for somebody like you with a rough tour in Iraq under your belt, surviving eight roadside bombs," correspondent Lara Logan remarked.

"I don't even think that's uncommon though. I mean I've gotta be honest, my whole company's that…I've got a kid out there that's got eight purple hearts. He just got shot in the head during a battle," Hintz replied. "He survived and he fought for three more hours. I mean it's just the way these guys are."

Hintz commands one of the most dangerous pieces of ground in Afghanistan: it may look like a desolate patch of dirt in the middle of nowhere, but his tiny base sits right on one of the main routes used by the enemy to ferry fighters and weapons from Pakistan.

"You can never rest out here because you know that they want this spot back. And the foreign fighters are very well trained. They carry better weapon systems. They have much more ammunition. So when you get into a fight with them, you know you're in a fight," Hintz explained.

Asked from where these "foreign fighters" are coming, Hintz told Logan, "Pakistan. We're only about 12/13 miles away from Pakistan. And we know we kill a lotta people here. And these guys - it doesn't matter if you kill 30 that day - or it doesn't seem to matter because they'll be back the next day or the next week."

"With more fighters?" Logan asked.

"Yes," the captain replied.

"Are the men you're facing committed?" Logan asked.

"They're more committed than anything I've ever seen. One day we killed 31 of them. We could see them dying on the hills. I mean, we were engagin' 'em and we were killin' 'em, and they kept charging us," Hintz said.

"60 Minutes" obtained video of the enemy from the other side of the border. It's the foreign fighters - like Arabs and Pakistanis - that Hintz says are the most skilled. They lead the local Afghans in battle, but both fight in the name of the Taliban.

"How much area around here does the Taliban control?" Logan asked.

"Wow, I have probably 300 square kilometers. And the vast majority is controlled by the Taliban," Hintz explained. "We push hard, we patrol heavy, we go out there but I would say probably 18 to 20 square kilometers is what I think I own."

"Are there areas here that you can't even go into at all, Taliban areas?" Logan asked.

"Yes. There's multiple areas in this sector that I can't go into," Hintz said.

"I mean that's incredible. I think people listening to that will just be wondering, 'How can we be nine years into this war,' and I mean, you're sitting here surrounded by Taliban villages that in some cases, you can't even go into," Logan remarked.

"I think the challenge is in finding out, you know, how to separate the Taliban from the village," Hintz said.

That's the challenge Hintz and his men faced, on one mission to a village that has asked for help rebuilding their canal. It's the core of the U.S. strategy: to build relationships with the villages so they don't support the Taliban.

Even though it means driving to an area that's a known staging ground for the Taliban and foreign fighters coming in from Pakistan - and they get attacked every time they go there - they set out to pay the village a visit.

It was a three-mile trip that took an hour and a half because of the impossible rocky terrain.

"The speed we're moving at, and the difficulty, I mean it just feels like this is one big target," Logan remarked, sitting inside the heavily armored vehicle.

"We are one big target here," Hintz agreed. "We are driving right to the Taliban villages. They're watching us and guaranteed they got a spotter sitting right up on this mountain and he's reporting everything back to his chain of command and they are just waiting for us."

When they arrived at the village, the reception was cool and we noticed Hintz was instantly on edge: the villagers kept their distance, unlike previous visits when they welcomed him.

Hintz tracked down the elder who had invited him to the village to find out what was going on. "The last time we came here, a lot of people came up and talked to us. Is there something going on today? Is it a time of prayer?" Hintz asked the elder with the help of an interpreter.

Not even he wanted to talk. It seemed he couldn't wait to get away.

Hintz was disappointed. By now, it felt like a set-up. The captain and his men were uneasy.

"We'll see how easily we get out of here. Tell your guys to be watching, okay? They need to be watching these mountains, they can't just walk along, okay?" Hintz instructed.

This is what American commanders are dealing with every day in villages across Afghanistan, as they try to carry out their mission.

"Right now if the Taliban is influencing that village or living in that village and we're not, then that's the choice you have. To go with the Taliban and live, or to talk to us and support us and as soon as we leave here you'll be dead," Hintz said.

The trip back was long and tense. Then, one of the trucks got stuck. Hintz and his men struggled to free the vehicle, which weighed nearly 13 tons.

Every second they were on the ground, they were exposed. It was the moment the enemy seemed to be waiting for - suddenly bullets cracked and whistled over our heads.

"They were hitting all around us… They had a lot of AK 47s. They fired RPGs at us," Hintz said. "Once you start hearing the snaps of their rounds, that means they're right on you."

Our cameraman, Ray Bribiesca, stayed close to the soldiers to capture the fight.

Hintz ordered in mortars. At one point, Hintz was on the hood of our truck, completely exposed to enemy fire. He was trying to secure the 200-pound tow bar so the convoy could get moving.

The convoy still had to fight its way through the ambush.

After 30 minutes of constant fighting, it was over. Hintz believes they killed 15 enemy fighters, with no American casualties. His soldiers were relieved and Hintz felt lucky to be alive.

"I had to jump on the hood to get the tow bar up and so I'm on the hood and rounds are cracking everywhere. It was insane," he explained.

There are more than 12,000 soldiers at dozens of outposts along the border dealing with the same problem as Hintz.

Lieutenant Colonel Joel Vowell at Forward Operating Base Joyce - less than five miles from the Pakistani border - is one of them.

"Most of the people we are fighting are from Pakistan," Lt. Col. Vowell explained.

"Is it an endless supply?" Logan asked.

"I don't know if it's endless," he replied.

Asked if it feels that way, Vowell said, "It feels that way when you have to fight waves after waves of enemy fighters here that are coming from sanctuary."

In nearly two weeks with Vowell and his soldiers, we quickly experienced the relentless pressure they come under. Once again, complex attacks carried out by a sophisticated enemy that doesn't back down.

"It's like any other border between any other country. You can't put a fence up there and stop everyone from coming over," Major General John Campbell told Logan.

Maj. Gen. Campbell is the man Vowell and Hintz report to. He's the commander of the 101st Airborne Division, in charge of some 30,000 soldiers in the region and the border is his problem.

"You cannot talk about Afghanistan without talking about Pakistan, I believe," Campbell remarked.

Campbell flew us over some of the 450 miles of the border that he's responsible for. "You're in Pakistan right now, now you're in Afghanistan," he explained, as the military chopper crossed a steep mountain ridge.

Campbell is in regular contact with the Pakistani military and says the relationship is improving a little more every day. "We would hope that they would do more within their capacity to stop people - command and control - and elements that come across the border in Afghanistan, and I would agree with that. I think they have tried to do some stuff. Is it enough? No,' Campbell said.

"It's not even close to enough," Logan remarked.

"Can they do more? Yes," he replied.

"Can they do a lot more?" Logan asked.

"Can they do a lot more? I would agree," Campbell replied.

Until they do, it's hard to see how U.S. soldiers at places like Combat Outpost Zerok can make any real progress in a fight that has claimed more American lives this year than any other.

Asked what the hardest thing is that he has had to deal with, Capt. Hintz told Logan, "It's losin' my soldiers. I lost a 18-year-old kid in Iraq. I've lost a 20-year-old kid in Afghanistan. Just lost a 29-year-old NCO a few weeks ago, stepped on a landmine. You're a failure 'cause you didn't take 'em home."

"I don't think anyone would call that a failure. I think people understand that in war and in combat, you lose soldiers," Logan said.

"Everybody knows in war you lose people. But just not your people," he replied.
As we left Hintz and his men, their mission at Zerok was coming to an end and new soldiers were pouring in to take over this fight.

"Is it your sense that you're winning here?" Logan asked.

"I think we're winning, I think we're winning," he said.

"You don't look convinced," Logan remarked.

"I'm not 100 percent convinced. I mean, but you can't look at it like we're losing. I'm not gonna come here and lose. So, do I think we've gained ground? Yes. Is it enough ground? No. I would like to say that if given another six months here I could bring in the next village, the next two villages and bring 'em to my side," Hintz said.

"But you can't," Logan said.

"I can't. I'll never give up on it, but at times I wonder if I walk outta here tomorrow, where's this place at?" Hintz asked.

"Where do you think?" Logan asked.

The captain relied, "Well, it it's lost."

Fallen members of the 101st Airborne Division, dating back to March 2010:

Maj. Robert F. Baldwin, 37, of Muscatine, Iowa. died Sept. 21 when a UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter crashed in Qalat, Afghanistan.

CW3 Matthew G. Wagstaff, 34, of Orem, Utah died Sept. 21 when a UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter crashed in Qalat, Afghanistan.

CW2 Jonah D. McClellan, 26, of St. Louis Park, Minnesota died Sept. 21 when a UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter crashed in Qalat, Afghanistan.

Staff Sgt. Joshua D. Powell, 25, of New Berlin, Ill. died Sept. 21 when a UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter crashed in Qalat, Afghanistan.

Sgt. Marvin R. Calhoun Jr., 23, of Osceola, Ind. died Sept. 21 when a UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter crashed in Qalat, Afghanistan.

1st Lt. Eric Yates, 26, of Rineyville, Ky. died Sept. 18, of wounds suffered Sept. 17 after an improvised explosive device detonated near his dismounted patrol in Maquan, Zhari District, Afghanistan.

Staff Sgt. Jaime C. Newman, 27, of Richmond, Va. died Sept. 17 after an improvised explosive device detonated near his dismounted patrol in Maquan, Zhari District, Afghanistan.

Spc. Deangelo Barnell Snow, 22, of Saginaw, Mich., died Sept.17, when his unit was attacked as he was serving as a gunner in Kandahar province, Afghanistan.

Sgt. Aaron K. Kramer, 22, of Salt Lake City, died Sept.16, when his unit was attacked by small arms fire as he was on patrol in Howzemadad, Afghanistan.

Lieutenant Todd W. Weaver, 26, of Hampton, Va., died Sept. 9 after being struck by an improvised explosive device as he was leading a dismounted area reconnaissance in Kandahar
Province, Afghanistan.

Capt. Jason T. McMahon, 35, of Mulvane, Kan., died Sept. 5 in Bagram, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked his unit with indirect fire in Jalalabad.

Capt. Ellery R. Wallace, 33, of Salt Lake City, Utah, died Aug. 29 after his Mine Resistant Ambush Protected All-Terrain Vehicle (MRAP-ATV) was struck by an rocket propelled grenade while on patrol in Babur, Afghanistan Aug. 28.

Pfc. Bryn T. Raver, 20, of Harrison, Ark., died Aug. 29, when his Mine Resistant Ambush Protected All-Terrain Vehicle (MRAP-ATV) was struck by a rocket propelled grenade while on patrol in Babur, Afghanistan Aug. 28.

Sgt. Patrick K. Durham, 24, of Chattanooga, Tenn., was killed Aug. 28, when his unit was attacked with an improvised explosive device while on patrol in Babur, Afghanistan.

Spc. Andrew J. Castro, 20, of Westlake Village, Calif., was killed Aug. 28, when his unit was attacked with an improvised explosive device while on patrol in Babur, Afghanistan.

Sgt. James C. Robinson, 27, of Lebanon, Ohio died Aug. 28 when insurgents attacked his Forward Operating Base (FOB Boris) in the Bermal district, Paktika province, Afghanistan.

Pvt. Adam J. Novak, 20, of Prairie Du Sac, Wis. was killed Aug. 27, when a command-wired improvised explosive device was detonated near his vehicle during convoy operations in the
Paktiya province, Afghanistan.

Spc. Chad Derek Coleman, 20, of Moreland, Ga. was killed Aug. 27, when a command-wired improvised explosive device was detonated near his vehicle during convoy operations in the
Paktiya province, Afghanistan.

Pfc. Benjamen Glen Chisholm, 24, of Fort Worth, Texas, died August 17, when an improvised explosive device detonated near his mounted patrol in Kunar province, Afghanistan.

Pvt. Charles Milton High IV, 21, of Albuquerque, N.M., died August 17, when an improvised explosive device detonated near his mounted patrol in Kunar province, Afghanistan.

Sgt. Kyle B. Stout, 25, of Texarkana, Texas, died July 30 when an improvised explosive device exploded near a security checkpoint in Kandahar Province, Afghanistan.

Spc. Michael L. Stansbery, Jr., 21, of Mt. Juliet, Tenn., died July 30 when his dismounted patrol encountered an improvised explosive device in Kandahar Province, Afghanistan.

Pfc. James J. Oquin, Jr., 20, of El Paso, Texas, died July 23 when he was swept away by the current when a levee broke near his military vehicle during a patrol in the Paktika province, Afghanistan.

Sgt. Matthew W. Weikert, 29, of Jacksonville, Ill., died July 17 of wounds sustained when his dismounted patrol encountered a land mine in Paktika, Afghanistan.

Sgt. 1st Class John H. Jarrell, 32, of Brunson, S.C., died July 15 when his dismounted patrol encountered an improvised explosive device in Kandahar province, Afghanistan.

Staff Sgt. Leston M. Winters, 30, of Sour Lake, Texas, died July 15 when his dismounted patrol encountered an improvised explosive device in Kandahar province, Afghanistan.

Pfc. Brandon M. King, 23, of Tallahassee, Fla., died July 14 in an attack by anti-Afghan forces at Combat Outpost Nolan, near Kandahar Province, Afghanistan.

Spc. Nathaniel D. Garvin, 20, of Radcliff, Ky., died July 12 of injuries sustained from a non-combat related incident in Kandahar, Afghanistan.

Staff Sgt. Shaun M. Mittler, 32, of Austin, Texas, died July 10 of injuries sustained when enemy forces attacked his unit in Konar Province, Afghanistan.

Spc. Carlos J. Negron, 40, of Fort Myers, Fla., died July 10 of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked his unit at Konar Province, Afghanistan.

Pfc. Anthony W. Simmons, 25, of Tallahassee, Fla., died July 8 during an indirect fire attack on Combat Outpost Monti, Afghanistan.

Pfc. David A. Jefferson, 23, of Philadelphia, Pa., died July 2 when his dismounted patrol encountered an improvised explosive device in Afghanistan.

Sgt. 1st Class Kristopher D. Chapleau, 33, of LaGrange, Ky., died June 30 in a non-combat related incident at Forward Operating Base Blessing, Afghanistan.

Staff Sgt. Eric B. Shaw, 31, of Exeter, Maine, was killed June 27 when his unit came under small arms fire in the Konar province, Afghanistan.

Sgt. David W. Thomas, 40, of St. Petersburg, Fla. was killed June 27 when his unit came under small arms fire in the Konar province, Afghanistan.

Sgt. John M. Rogers, 26, of Riverside, Mo., died June 27 at Forward Operating Base Blessing, Afghanistan, of injuries sustained from a non-combat related incident.

Spc. Jared C. Plunk, 27, of Stillwater, Okla. died June 25 when his mounted patrol came under small arms and rocket propelled grenade fire in the Konar province, Afghanistan.

Spc. Blair D. Thompson, 19, of Rome, N.Y., died June 25 when his mounted patrol came under small arms and rocket propelled grenade fire in the Konar province, Afghanistan.

1st Sgt. Eddie Turner, 41, of Fort Belvoir, Va., died June 22 at Camp Clark, Afghanistan of injuries sustained from a non-combat related incident.

Staff Sgt. Brandon M. Silk, 25, of Orono, Maine, died June 21 when a UH-60 (Blackhawk) helicopter made a hard landing near Gaza Ridge, Afghanistan.

Sgt. Andrew R. Looney, 22, of Owasso, Okla. died June 21 when an insurgent detonated a suicide vest next to a traffic control point outside of Lar Sholtan Village, Afghanistan.

Pfc. David T. Miller, 19, of Wilton, New York died June 21 when an insurgent detonated a suicide vest next to a traffic control point outside of Lar Sholtan Village, Afghanistan.

Staff Sgt. James P. Hunter, 25, of South Amherst, Ohio died June 18 when his dismounted patrol encountered an improvised explosive device in Kandahar, Afghanistan.

Pfc. Benjamin J. Park, 25, of Fairfax Station, Va., died June 18 when his dismounted patrol encountered an improvised explosive device in the Zhari District, Kandahar, Afghanistan.

Sgt. Nathan W. Cox, 27, of Fremont, Calif., died June 16 at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, Germany, of injuries sustained when his dismounted patrol encountered small arms fire near
Forward Operating Base Khogyani, Afghanistan on June 14.

Spc. Benjamin D. Osborn, 27, of Queensbury, N.Y., died June 15 of injuries sustained when his mounted patrol came under fire in the Shigalwasheltan district, Afghanistan.

Sgt. Erick J. Klusacek, 22, of Calcium, N.Y. died June 8 in a vehicle incident in Gerda Serai, Afghanistan.

1st Sgt. Robert N. Barton II, 35, of Roxie, Miss., was one of five Soldiers killed June 7, when their vehicle struck an improvised explosive device in the Dangam district, Kunar province,
Afghanistan.

Sgt. Joshua A. Lukeala, 23, of Yigo, Guam, was one of five Soldiers killed June 7, when their vehicle struck an improvised explosive device in the Dangam district, Kunar province,
Afghanistan.

Spc. Matthew R. Catlett, 23, of Houston, Texas, was one of five Soldiers killed June 7, when their vehicle struck an improvised explosive device in the Dangam district, Kunar province,
Afghanistan.

Spc. Charles S. Jirtle, 29, of Lawton, Okla., was one of five Soldiers killed June 7, when their vehicle struck an improvised explosive device in the Dangam district, Kunar province,
Afghanistan.

Spc. Blaine E. Redding, 22, of Plattsmouth, Neb., was one of five Soldiers killed June 7, when their vehicle struck an improvised explosive device in the Dangam district, Kunar province,
Afghanistan.

2nd Lt. Michael E. McGahan, 23, of Orlando, Fla., died June 6 when his patrol came under small arms fire in the Khogyani district, Nangarhar province, Afghanistan.

PFC Christopher R. Barton, 22, of Concord, N.C., died May 24 when his unit came under small arms fire in the Khowst province of Afghanistan.

Spc. Jeremy L. Brown, 20, of McMinnville, Tenn., died May 9 when his dismounted patrol received small arms fire near Contingency Outpost Zerok, Afghanistan.

Pfc. Jonathon Hall, 23, of Chattanooga, Tenn., died April 8 from wounds suffered April 7 when his vehicle was hit by an improvised explosive device in Paktika Province, Afghanistan.

Sgt. Jonathan J. Richardson, 24, of Bald Knob, Ark., died from wounds suffered when his unit came under small arms, rocket and indirect fire in Khowst Province, Afghanistan.

Pfc. Jason M. Kropat, 25, of White Lake, N.Y., died from wounds suffered when his unit came under small arms, rocket and indirect fire in Khowst Province, Afghanistan.

Sgt. Vincent L.C. Owens, 21, of Fort Smith, Ark., died at Forward Operating Base Sharana, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when his unit came under direct fire in Yosuf Khel.

Produced by Max McClellan and Jeff Newton