The NATO campaign is now in a new phase. After years of fighting the Taliban and bolstering anemic local governance, NATO troops are handing those responsibilities over to the Afghans. NPR's Sean Carberry recently embedded with U.S. troops in the southern province of Kandahar as they worked on this new mission.
The fertile Arghandab Valley in Kandahar province is considered one of Afghanistan's breadbaskets. For years it was also a valley of death for NATO troops.
Security in the region has improved dramatically since the U.S. troop surge in 2010, though Taliban hot spots remain tucked amid the small mountains overlooking the valley.
On a misty February morning, 1st Lt. Phillip Baki led a platoon of U.S. cavalry troops on a patrol up a steep peak. They were visiting the Afghan police checkpoint overlooking the Dahla Dam.
“ ... It's hard to know you've got a resource you can't provide because of the rules, not because you physically don't have it. In the long run it's definitely going to serve them well, but it certainly isn't easy.