KABUL, Afghanistan — At the Afghan National Army commando school just south of the capital city, there's a classroom where Afghan soldiers are learning to speak English.
On a wall across from a large map of the United States was a familiar sight: a photograph of a wooden sign with white letters.
The sign is familiar to anyone here in Fayetteville. It reads: "Fort Bragg, Home of the Airborne and Special Operations Forces."
Afghanistan's elite soldiers not only know Fort Bragg. Many have even visited or trained here.
It's a sign of Fort Bragg's strong ties to the war in Afghanistan. For the past 13 years, the histories of Fort Bragg and Afghanistan have been deeply intertwined.
Both the 82nd Airborne Division and 18th Airborne Corps have been repeatedly deployed in support of the war, while other Fort Bragg units, such as the 1st Theater Sustainment Command, have carried more than their share of the mission.
Meanwhile, the most deployed soldiers of the war in Afghanistan are also from Fort Bragg.
They are the Special Forces soldiers of the 3rd Special Forces Group who, along with the 7th Special Forces Group - a Fort Bragg unit until its headquarters moved to Florida in 2011 - have shouldered the Special Forces mission in Afghanistan.
They have helped build the Afghan National Army, National Police and local police units, and they continue leading efforts to train Afghan commandos and special forces to this day.
In early December, I spoke with many of the Fort Bragg-based Green Berets who have deployed five, six or sometimes seven times to Afghanistan.
From a two-star general to the leader of a 12-man Special Forces detachment, there was a common theme: This has been Fort Bragg's war.
Maj. Gen. Edward M. Reeder Jr., a Fayetteville native who first deployed to Afghanistan in early 2002, said Fort Bragg has a special bond with Afghanistan's military leaders.
The war in Afghanistan was a perfect mission for Special Forces, Reeder said.
"This war is in our DNA," he said.
Col. Robert Wilson, the commander of the 3rd Special Forces Group, spoke of those strong ties from his office at Camp Vance, a Special Forces compound in Afghanistan.
He said the 3rd and 7th Special Forces Groups have made tremendous sacrifices in Afghanistan. Yet they keep coming back because of the bonds that have been formed over the years.
"We've always got somebody going or coming back," he said.
Outside Wilson's headquarters on Camp Vance is an expansive memorial, listing the names of all those special operations troops killed in the war in Afghanistan.
More than 200 names are etched in the stone. The hundreds more who have been wounded - many of whom have lost limbs or earned multiple Purple Hearts - are not on the memorial.
Col. Fred Dummar - who aside from two years has served either at Fort Bragg or in Afghanistan since 1994 - said Special Forces, specifically those from Fort Bragg, have a vested interest in Afghanistan.
They have raised the Afghan security forces, he said, and watched them progress over the years.
All the while, they have continued to sacrifice time with family and loved ones.
"Afghanistan is their baby," Dummar said.
Dummar said he, like many, eagerly watches the progression of Afghan forces, even while not deployed.
When there's good news, Dummar said he is a proud father. When there's bad, he shares in the embarrassment.
But these days, Dummar said he is more proud than anything else.
Based at Camp Morehead, he is the top adviser to the Afghan school for commandos and special forces and said U.S. Special Forces are getting ever closer to working themselves out of a job.
Already, classes are largely led by Afghan instructors, with U.S. soldiers helping as needed.
Dummar said he looks forward to the day when Special Forces are not needed there.
In the meantime - as most Fort Bragg soldiers come home with the end of Operation Enduring Freedom and the start of Operation Resolute Support - he said Special Forces are likely to stay as long as they are wanted, even long after the last conventional forces have left.
"If 20 years from now there's only one element in Afghanistan, it will be a Green Beret team at Camp Morehead," he said.
© 2014 The Fayetteville Observer (Fayetteville, N.C.) Visit The Fayetteville Observer (Fayetteville, N.C.) at www.fayobserver.com Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC
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