Meeting the leaders of Bravo Company

Bravo Company troops are put through calesthenics in the morning Afghan heat.

Editor's note: In our Behind the Scenes series, CNN correspondents and consultants share their experiences on location around the world. Robinson is working with CNN Correspondent Mike Boettcher and Producer Maria Fleet.

BAGRAM AIR BASE, Afghanistan (CNN) -- It is 0500 hours local time in Afghanistan and it is already hot. Elements of Bravo Company are awake and moving. Leaders are conducting their morning physical training, ensuring their men maintain the high level of fitness required for any combat mission.

The environment in Afghanistan is harsh and unforgiving. These soldiers clearly understand the correlation between their own stamina and survival on the modern battlefield.

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The soldiers go about their tasks with extreme earnestness and gallows humor, two hallmarks of paratrooper demeanor the world over.

Here at Bagram Air Base, the United States has built a military coalition with contributions from more 20 nations. They have deployed more than 7,000 soldiers. Last January, the 101st Airborne Division spearheaded the U.S. Army's contribution to the effort.

Bravo Company, 2nd Battalion, 187th Infantry, based at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, is a tiny but representative slice of America's sons at war. This is their story.

At 0900 hours, the public affairs officer issues his morning briefing, which always ends the same way: "The hunt continues. The war against al Qaeda terrorists in Afghanistan is not over."

Bravo Company is not present to hear the news. They are out in the dust, training and sweating. They already know what many at home may not have considered -- that there is no clear end in sight for the war on terrorism.

The commanding officer, or C.O., of Bravo Company is Capt. Brett Tecklenburg, a tall, quiet, square-jawed man who has been in the Army 10 years and hails from Montgomery, Alabama.

He has commanded Bravo Company for a month and a half. But combat zones are like dog years: When you live with your men 24 hours a day, seven days a week, much can be accomplished in a short period.

Before he took over Bravo, Tecklenburg was the 2nd Battalion's plans officer, performing that role during Operation Anaconda this spring. He demonstrates by action that he understands his mission and clearly knows his men. He is in charge.

The commander's right hand is his senior enlisted noncommissioned officer, 1st Sgt. Curtis O'Neal of Tuskegee, Alabama.

Like his commander, O'Neal is a master parachutist and Ranger qualified. He possesses a command presence that can be intimidating but is important for leaders to have in combat. O'Neal is one of the newest members of Bravo Company, having just arrived within the past two weeks.

Tecklenburg and O'Neal seem to be highly regarded, both by their superiors and the soldiers they lead.

Over the past 24 hours I have observed Bravo Company and its leaders as they prepare for war. You can turn a camera 360 degrees in the company area and never catch the same activity twice.

The battalion mortar team practices on the firing range.

The commander's office -- known as the orderly room -- is a large dusty green tent, which also serves as the living quarters for the command group and the company's planning bay, with maps of past, present and future potential targets.

The unit flag flaps loudly outside the tent as I slip in for a sit-down discussion with the company's executive officer, or X.O., 1st Lt. William Kilgore of Aberdeen, Washington.

Kilgore has the unenviable position of being the No. 2, the beans and bullets man, the keeper of vital statistics, and the anticipator and solver of mind numbing problems. He is also the first among equals with the Company platoon leaders.

Quietly, Kilgore's demeanor changes from his usual cheerful smile to pensive.

He fills me in on Bravo's future.

Next: Bravo Company sets forth on its mission.