Under attack: Members of the 101st Airborne Division perilously close to an explosion in AfghanistanWith 131 Soldiers Dead In Afghan Attacks, Famed 101st Airborne Division Returns Home With Heaviest Losses Since Vietnam -- The Daily Mail
The soldiers of the Army's famed 101st Airborne Division deployed to Afghanistan confident their counterinsurgency expertise would once again turn a surge strategy into a success, but instead they are headed home uncertain of lasting changes on the battlefield.
As the division's 24,000 soldiers return to Fort Campbell from their one-year deployment, doubts remain in the military that security in Afghanistan can last without a significant U.S. military presence for years.
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My Comment: When experienced soldiers who have seen multiple tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan are getting killed or severely wounded .... you know that this is a tough war to win. I get some small comfort that in one year they were still able to accomplish the following ....
.... thousands of weapons caches found, thousands of insurgent fighters killed and dozens of districts with improved security.
... but with the war continuing at a casualty pace that even outstrips last year .... I wounder who is going to replace them, and will they be more effective. Unfortunately .... my gut is telling me no, and that the 101rst Airborne Division's impact will be forgotten by this summer.