Soldier Remembers Afghanistan War

Ten years ago Friday, the war began in Afghanistan and no one remembers it better than the men and women who fought on the front lines.

Ret. Col. Mark Earley of Riverside County was an Army commander sent to Afghanistan shortly after operations began in 2001. He commanded 1000 soldiers, all of which landed in either Afghanistan or Iraq. It didn't take long for the young officer to learn the lasting pain of war.

"One of the first soldiers we lost was a young medic from a unit that we had operational control over, " said Earley. "I thought 'how ironic was that?' The man went to to help others, to save others, but he dies in a rocket-propelled grenade attack."

Although some once called Afghanistan a quagmire, Ret. Col. Earley says he saw progress. Roads and schools were built, women won new freedoms and there was economic development to rival the opium drug trade. Still, the soldier-turned-City Council aide says more days of fighting and dying are likely to come.

"These things take a long time, " said Ret. Col. Earley. "Unlike a TV sitcom or a small magazine article, it's going to take a while to bring this to resolution."

Ret. Col. Earley says there's one thing he knows for sure -- freedom is not free.