Bravo Company poised and ready

Notes from the front

While in training at Bagram Air Base, Bravo Company Pvt. Joseph Boyd gets a haircut from Pvt. 1st Class Ronald Nedland.

Editor's note: In our Behind the Scenes series, CNN correspondents and consultants share their experiences on location around the world.

BAGRAM AIR BASE, Afghanistan (CNN) -- The United States woke up a changed nation on the morning of September 12, 2001. And Bravo Company, 2nd Battalion, 187th Infantry -- a part of the 101st Airborne Division -- was a changed unit.

The world has always been a dangerous place, and since the end of World War II, the United States has placed its soldiers, sailors, airmen, and Marines "on point" to demonstrate its commitment.

Bravo Company provides base security and a quick reaction force for Operation Mountain Lion at Bagram Air Base, just north of Kabul in Afghanistan. Bagram is a rusting, dusty relic of a previous failed intervention in Afghanistan by the former Soviet Union. This history lesson hasn't been lost on the men of Bravo Company.

Read more from the Behind the Scenes series on Bravo Company: Poised and ready Meeting the leaders Mountain assault More stories   Mountain assault Meeting the leaders Poised & ready  CNN.COM SPECIAL REPORT  CNN NewsPass Video  Agencies reportedly got hijack tips in 1998  MORE STORIES Intelligence intercept led to Buffalo suspects Report cites warnings before 9/11  EXTRA INFORMATION Timeline: Who Knew What and When? Interactive: Terror Investigation Terror Warnings System Most wanted terrorists What looks suspicious? In-Depth: America Remembers In-Depth: Terror on Tape In-Depth: How prepared is your city?  RESOURCES On the Scene: Barbara Starr: Al Qaeda hunt expands? On the Scene: Peter Bergen: Getting al Qaeda to talk

As members of America's "Contingency Corps," these soldiers, based out of Fort Campbell, Kentucky, have trained to be strategically responsive and capable of operating in a range of potential conflicts. The company now has fixed its sights on its most imminent threat: al Qaeda and its Taliban allies.

Their mission: Be prepared to prevent remaining Taliban and al Qaeda forces from using one inch of Afghan territory as a sanctuary. Their intent: Destroy this terrorist threat.

This battalion spearheaded the assault on the Shah-e Kot valley as part of Operation Anaconda last March. (Read Martin Savidge's series of On the Scene/Behind the Scene reports on Operation Anaconda.) Today they prepare for their next call to duty.

Huddled over maps and imagery, the leaders of Bravo Company carefully plan for whatever may be their next combat mission, whether it will be to defend a unit under attack or seize a strategic objective in the war on terror.

Platoon sergeants and squad leaders sustain their men's combat edge while accomplishing mundane but important tasks.

To an infantryman, combat is an extremely personal event. The soldiers of Bravo Company have told me they're the best; they're a team. They say they know they're here to defend their country, but they also recognize they're up against a determined enemy.

So today, in 100-degree heat, they prepare to accomplish any missions they're assigned with the confidence that when the hour comes, they'll do it with swift violence of action.

Their objective is 100-percent mission accomplishment -- and to bring every man back alive.

Next: We begin to meet the men of Bravo Company