Page 2 - Checkpoint 710 News Today : Breaking News, Live Updates & Top Stories | Vimarsana

Soldiers and the local folks? what are you asking of them and what has it been like? >> it has been very positive. the locals are wary of our presence somewhat but know we are here to help support their government and help make them safer. some people there are mixed reactions. some people are wary. most of the children are receptive and are willing to talk to us and talk to my soldiers and they feel safer knowing afghan national police are beginning to protect them and offer an alternative to the enemies security. >> looking down here through the substation, through this checkpoint, i look at...

Part of our self-declared little cable news mission in afghanistan is to figure out what things are like for the americans who are serving here. you and me, civilians, because these soldiers are here, we are incuring a life-long debt to the american serving in uniform and assume public responsibility for them for the rest of their lives as veterans. part of respecting that service is to understand what exactly it is we are asking them to do here, not just how much danger we are putting them in, but why we are doing it. this is sergeant shawnrobinson. checkpoint 710 is between the

Something. >> i can. ten months ago i would tell you absolutely not. when we first got in country to see the progression they made is incredible. >> through train something. >> through training. at first they were reluctant without our technology or weaponry to go out. by the end of the time they would go out without us and tell us about it later. they needed the confidence boost to go out independently. we were able to accomplish that. i don't think it will be any different here. >> the point of a checkpoint like this is that the locals here will choose essentially to ally with the legitimate...

Set up. >> it sure is. a week ago there was nothing here. >> because this is brand new locals are just now experiencing what it means to have a checkpoint where there didn't used to be one. have you had any reaction you can tell us about so far? >> sure. the compound that is right here to our right closest to our tower, they were skeptical because of their culture. the tower would look over their compound and they had adolescent females in the compound. so that one is lower than all the other towers to placate the local population so they came in, saw how our tower didn't look in and gained us...