Here in southern Afghanistan, I often ask the soldiers what they think about the things folks are saying about the war back home. The question is usually phrased as a simple, "Does the American public get it?"

How can they? The don’t feel the heat, the fear, the flies. Who can understand what it’s like to know the next step may be your last -- unless you’ve been there? Still, it’s a question often on soldiers’ minds.

First Lt. Christopher Babcock, of New Orleans, gave an answer that I’ve often heard from soldiers over the years.

Babcock is as smart and capable a platoon leader as I’ve ever met. He joined the Army as an enlisted soldier in 1997 and served as a combat medic in his first tour in Baghdad. He went to Officer Candidate School in 2008 and earned a commission.

He said, "I’ve had people come up to me and say ‘I support the troops, I want you out of there.’ Really? What have you done to support the troops? What have you done other than complain? Have you petitioned the halls of Congress? Have you written your representative? Have you asked the president to increase our pay, increase our benefits? That’s supporting the troops. Saying you want the troops out of Afghanistan by talking to no one of influence is wasting your time, and you’re a complainer. And you’re not supporting the troops.

"Do something for us. Call your senator, talk to your senator. Talk to your representative. If you want us to stay here and continue to fight this war on terror, tell your senator, tell your representative. If you don’t want us to fight this war on terror, and want us back home, call your representative, call your senator. Write them a letter. Say, 'I’m in your constituency, I want the soldiers gone.' Vote.

"I want engagement. I want them to do something realistic. I’m a soldier through and through. My opinion of this has waned from caring to disconcern. I care about the men on the left and right. That’s what really matters."

That’s a view echoed by many soldiers I meet. His personal opinions Babcock won’t share, and quite frankly they don’t matter. He’s a soldier, he carries out the orders given to him. His job is to complete his mission, and get his men home alive.

The faded yellow ribbons are nice, but constructive engagement by the citizens of the United States is what makes the men at Combat Outpost Nolen feel that people thousands of miles away haven’t forgotten them.

Editor's note: Associated Press photojournalists Evan Vucci and Rodrigo Abd are Photoblogging for msnbc.com while embedded with U.S. troops stationed at Combat Outpost Nolen, in the volatile Arghandab Valley in Kandahar, Afghanistan.

Spc. Dallas Purdy from Hockley, Texas, sits next to a message of support from friends Ashley and Katie Daniels at COP Nolen, Thursday, July 29. (Rodrigo Abd / AP)

Growing up in a country that has endured almost constant warfare for more than 30 years, many Afghan soldiers have been fighting nearly their entire lives. Their fighting skills are important for their American partners. The performance of the Afghan National Army is key to the eventual withdrawal of American forces, and for the future of a stable Afghanistan.

So the American soldiers at Combat Outpost Nolen welcome the Afghan soldiers here with open arms, hopeful that they'll take some pressure off their shoulders from the intense battle that has raged here since their arrival. Some soldiers go so far as to say the Afghans have a "sixth sense" for finding the homemade bombs, or IED's, that have plagued them throughout their deployment.

Afghan army and U.S. Army soldiers play with a ball at the joint U.S.-Afghan base at COP Nolen. (Rodrigo Abd / AP)

An Afghan soldier fires a rocket-propelled grenade towards insurgent positions as a U.S. Army soldier ducks. (Rodrigo Abd / AP)

As an institution, the Afghan National Army isn't perfect and has a long way to go before it can operate on its own. There are doubts about discipline, training, equipment, motivation, Taliban infiltrators and their ability to follow the counterinsurgency strategy, which requires diplomacy nearly as much as marksmanship.

But at the man-for-man level, it's different, and bravery is not in doubt.

Watching the Americans and Afghans getting to know each other is like watching the arrival of new kids at summer camp. They play volleyball, share food, give each other nicknames and swap war stories. Whether Afghans, who can fight well individually, can be forged into a cohesive fighting unit is the million-dollar question. The results of the Afghan army's past performances are mixed. But stakes are high here in the fight for Kandahar, the biggest city in the south and the Taliban's former headquarters.

The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Adm. Mike Mullen, has said, "As goes Kandahar, so goes Afghanistan." Over the coming months a major push will be made to bring Kandahar under the control of the Karzai government. The U.S. military is hoping the face of that push will be an Afghan one. The Afghan army is going to have to step up and prove to its partners that it is ready - not only for the fight, but to operate like a professional army.

Editor's note: Associated Press photojournalists Evan Vucci and Rodrigo Abd are Photoblogging for msnbc.com while embedded with U.S. troops stationed at Combat Outpost Nolen, in the volatile Arghandab Valley in Kandahar, Afghanistan.

Afghan army soldier Said prays at the joint U.S.-Afghan base at COP Nolen, Friday, July 23. (Rodrigo Abd / AP)

Afghan army soldiers have dinner at COP Nolen, Friday, July 23.(Rodrigo Abd / AP)

An Afghan soldier stands guard next to a villager who was detained at COP Nolen due to his fingers having trace amounts of ammonium nitrate, the key component used in manufacturing IED's in the volatile Arghandab Valley, Kandahar, Afghanistan, Sunday, July 25. (Rodrigo Abd / AP)

Afghan army soldiers cool off from the fierce Afghan heat with a swim in a canal near the joint Afghan-U.S. base COP Nolen. (Rodrigo Abd / AP)

"The worst camp experience I've ever had," is the way Spc. Josh Socha of Portland, Oregon, describes his time at Combat Outpost Nolen in the volatile Arghandab Valley of Kandahar Province, Afghanistan.

The men of COP Nolen have been in that valley for just over a month and have already seen their share of the most intense combat in Afghanistan. When last we reported, one of the camp's platoons had experienced severe casualties, losing nearly half of their men. As they are moved to the rear to regroup, a new set of troops is arriving to reinforce the position. Nolen comes under attack nearly every day, and patrols that leave the protective razor wire around their compound often run into either small arms fire or homemade bombs – IEDs, as the military calls them.

1LT Chris Babcock, front, and SPC Manuel Salvador conduct personal hygiene at COP Nolen, Sunday, July 25. (Rodrigo Abd / AP)

US Army soldiers relax after a morning exercise session at COP Nolen, Thursday, July 22. (Rodrigo Abd / AP)

US Army troops fire a rocket propelled grenade toward insurgent positions at COP Nolen, Thursday, July 22. (Rodrigo Abd / AP)

Four to five men sleep in the cramped rooms of this former school. With daytime temperatures often reaching 115-120 degrees, the stench from body armor, equipment and clothing is overpowering. It's nearly impossible to escape the oppressive heat. The ground is littered with spent shell casings from the daily firefights and the cigarette butts that often go hand-in-hand with those firefights. A well provides water for showers, shaving and laundry. The men burn their own trash and feces – a task that often falls to the lower-ranking soldiers.

Bottles of drinking water are stacked in cases in the compound. To keep the water cool the men put it in a large deep freezer. But they burn through water so fast that finding a cool or lukewarm bottle is like hitting the lottery. Breakfast and dinner are cooked by Sgt. Jeffery Meador, who the soldiers swear can make a gourmet meal out of anything. Steak and lobster were even served here this week – a rare treat.

Morbid humor and relentless teasing pass the time. Wives, girlfriends, mothers and past missteps on patrol are all fair game. Men who share the same shoe size joke that if they step on an IED with opposite feet, they can split the cost of a new pair of shoes. The bond of brotherhood runs deep. These men have shared experiences and a part of their lives they will never forget.

US Army soldiers laugh as they have lunch at COP Nolen, Saturday, July 24. (Rodrigo Abd / AP)

SGT David Stricklans, of Shepherdsville, Ky., center, and SSG David Chavez, of Phoenix, Ariz., gather inside their room at COP Nolen, Sunday, July 25. (Rodrigo Abd / AP)

I often ask the soldiers what they miss about home, and the answers usually run the gamut from the sarcastic to the sweet. But my favorite came from Socha.
"I miss for the most part that it's never sunny with a chance of RPGs," he said, referring to rocket-propelled grenades.
"There's never a chance of mortars at home unless it's the 4th of July and you just came home from the reservation with a boatload of illegal explosives or fireworks. So that's what I miss most about home. That there's an innocence there that you can do things that are dangerous but it just isn't the same there as it is here. Just going outside can get you injured, or killed, or maimed."

Editor's note: Associated Press photojournalists Evan Vucci and Rodrigo Abd are Photoblogging for msnbc.com while embedded with U.S. troops stationed at Combat Outpost Nolen, in the volatile Arghandab Valley in Kandahar, Afghanistan.

A US soldier watches an Afghan movie on TV while relaxing at COP Nolen, Tuesday, July 20. (Rodrigo Abd / AP)