ORGUN-E, Afghanistan

Few battalions in the Army have spent as much time as the 1st Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment getting to know their areas of operations.

Some soldiers in the Vicenza, Italy-based unit have served 25 of the past 40 months in Paktika province. They went on a 12-month tour in 2005-06, and followed it up with a 15-month stint expected to last until July.

Staff Sgts. Kevin Field and Matthew Fillinger and Sgt. Michael Fogleman all served in the same platoon when the 173rd Airborne Brigade jumped into Iraq in 2003. They’re still serving as Sky Soldiers.

The men said they’ve noticed differences between the unit’s two rotations to Afghanistan.

"Our ops tempo is a lot higher this time," said Field, who has a wife and two children in Vicenza.

"We’re doing a lot of the same things in different ways," Fillinger said. "I don’t know if we’re doing them better than we were previously, but the results are becoming more visible."

One of the biggest events during their previous rotation in Afghanistan was the first national election since the fall of the Taliban-led government. The soldiers said they see a lot more interest by local people toward their government this time around and it might just take time for something like that to set in.

Fillinger said that if he has to serve somewhere in this region, it might as well be where he’s invested some time.

"I’d prefer [Paktika] to Baghdad," he said, smiling.

Lt. Col. Mike Fenzel, the battalion commander, said his unit "knew all the names. All the places. We knew already what we wanted to focus on."

For Fenzel, that meant getting troops out near the border with Pakistan. Half a dozen combat outposts have been built or refurbished during the battalion’s current tour.

Getting to those compounds often requires flying. The Army has about twice the helicopters in the sector as it did during the previous rotation, Fenzel said.

There’s more helicopter traffic into the battalion’s headquarters at Orgun-E. Afghan forces are also operating their own aircraft. And much of the resupply burden has been contracted out to private foreign helicopters, commonly referred to by troops as "jingle air." "Jingle trucks," which sometimes come all the way from ports in the south through Pakistan with supplies, still make their journeys. But it’s easier for the helicopters to make the trips.

It can get a little monotonous at some of those locations.

"There are discouraging days," Fillinger said. "But every day, I get up and see those names of my friends up on the Wall (of Heroes). Those guys died for their country, whether they always agreed with it or not. They were doing what they were supposed to do."

He said even little changes in the people or province can help him refocus.

"You see that progress is being made and you’ve just got to take pride in it."

Growing retail village serves GIs at Orgun-E

ORGUN-E, Afghanistan — The number of retail shops on base has tripled. A new Morale, Welfare and Recreation facility features phone and Internet booths and a 30-seat movie theater.

There’s a restaurant for troops who don’t feel like eating at the dining facility. And there are new or refurbished buildings for several units around the base.

Orgun-E is hardly a resort, but under the leadership of Sgt. 1st Class Reddadd Sabbahi, who has served as this base’s mayor for the past year, it has seen a variety of improvements.

"We didn’t do all this just for the soldiers who are here," he said. "But for the upcoming soldiers. When you’re doing this job, you are always looking for improvement."

"The FOB’s (forward operating base) basically doubled in size since we got here the first time," said Staff Sgt. Matthew Fillinger, who first arrived in Paktika province in 2005.

A total of 240 truckloads of small rocks were brought in to serve as ground cover, eliminating some of the dust and mud around the base. Many buildings have been painted or remodeled.

"We tried to make it look more like a village," Sabbahi said. "A little more like home."

Nine businesses run by Afghans complement a small exchange run by unit funds. Troops can buy or look at carpets, clothing, antiques and assorted electronic items. Some have interesting combinations of merchandise, such as cigarettes and shoes or watches, toy guns and eyeglasses.

Sabbahi said there were three businesses on base when the battalion started its tour in May 2007. A new building that will serve as a lounge/restaurant and an expanded electronics shop will give the base 10 about the time the battalion heads back to Italy.

The base has been the headquarters of the 1st Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment from Vicenza, Italy, for 13 months. It’s the second stint in Paktika province in three years for First Rock, though it was known as 1st Battalion, 508th Infantry Regiment the last time.

U.S. troops were first here after the invasion of Afghanistan following the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. Since then, units from the 82nd Airborne Division, 10th Mountain Division, 25th Infantry Division and 173rd Airborne Brigade have called the place home. The latest to arrive is the 2nd Battalion, 506th Infantry Regiment from the 101st Airborne Division.

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