With the premiere of Inside The Green Berets airing this Monday, the National Geographic Channel has asked Jerry Newberry of the Veterans of Foreign Wars to share his story of what it was like being embedded with troops in Afghanistan. Different then the troops at Fire Base Cobra, but still fighting for same cause.

Jerry Newberry - Special Contributor and Director VFW Communications

So it's about 0700 and the sun is just coming up over the 8,000 ft. ridge to the east of the Korengal Outpost – better known as the "KOP."

My t-shirt is still drenched with sweat from the exertion of climbing the steep ridgelines to the south of here. My hair plastered flat to my head from wearing a Kevlar helmet during the all-night patrol.

It feels good to sit down, drink some water and Gatorade. It's good to be back. It's good to be alive.

I've got a minimum of 30 years on the Joes of 3rd platoon – and I'll admit it ain't easy humping these mountains, keeping up with 'em. They've been at it for about 6 months, on an almost daily (nightly) basis, so they've grown accustomed to it.

But the old guy kept up, and I wasn't the last man in the column as we returned to the outpost when the nightlong patrol finally ended.

So I guess that's something.

The troops out here don’t have it easy. It isn’t much different than the conditions many of us who served in Vietnam experienced.

The "KOP" is a remote outpost located at about the middle of the Korengal Valley. Just a few ridgelines away is Pakistan, where al Quaeda, Taliban and foreign fighters re-supply, re-fit, and train for their almost constant operations against this outpost and the troops who patrol the valley and surrounding mountains.

It's dangerous here. This company has taken more casualties than any other in the battalion and the battalion has taken more than any other in Afghanistan. Ratio and percentage-wise, this unit has probably seen and sustained more action – taken more casualties – than any other military unit serving in the Middle East.

The troops live in tents. They’ve managed to run some electrical outlets, so in the very little downtime they have, they’re able to plug in their laptops and watch DVDs. The tents don’t have any lights, so flashlights with filtered lenses are used extensively – to dress, read, wash and eat.

Bottled water is used for drinking and a “water buffalo" provides the water used to wash clothes (by hand or in a bucket) or for showering.

Removed from the immediate company area are the latrines and "showers." Both are rough structures constructed of two-by-fours and plywood. In order to take a shower, you need to fill a 5-gallon jug from the water buffalo and then haul it down a steep, rocky path to one of two showers. You heft the jug and fill the canvas field shower and wash as fast as you can … before the water bag empties.

The latrines are a la Vietnam. Yes, they still have the barrels and yes, someone has to be the "burner."

The OP is pretty much unreachable by road. There is a road, but it’s narrow, rough, windy … prone to be mined with IEDs or ambushed with RPG, PKU and AK47 fire by the bad guys. So most supplies are air-dropped by C-130 aircraft.

Not all the drops go according to plan however. Sometimes supplies go wide of the DZ (“drop-zone") by several hundred meters, falling between the deep fingers of the mountain valley. The combination of distance, terrain and risk of enemy ambush render them "unrecoverable."

The food is predictable, unchanging. The cook makes do with the supplies that have been provided. One "hot" meal consisting of two dishes – an egg concoction with diced potatoes, shredded turkey bacon AND turkey link sausages – is prepared in a MKT (Mobile Kitchen Trailer). MRE's (Meals Ready to Eat) are favored over the "hot" meals because at least they offer a little variety.

Battalion and Division HQs are concerned and work hard to improve conditions for the troops. To be fair, to the higher-ups, this IS a remote outpost in every sense of the word.

So the troops get by with little sleep, constantly patrolling with almost daily contact with the enemy. "Short patrols” inadvertently stretch for hours because of this, so the troops grab what shuteye they can ... when they can.

The KOP is hot, dirty and dangerous. The troops live in extremely Spartan conditions, in continuous contact with the enemy. It’s amazing how they conduct themselves in light of all the difficulties they face daily.

They could use some support. In the way of entertainment to help relieve the stress and boredom between missions: portable DVD players, MP3 players would be a help. Also, food to supplement their rations: boxed prepared meals (macaroni and cheese, etc.), canned tuna fish, chili, peanut butter, jelly ... just about anything that is non-perishable.

From over here, I’m not able to make that happen. But it’ll be a priority once I return.

Believe me. Your help and generosity will go a long way in helping these great Americans. They deserve it more than you can possibly know.

For more information or to donate visit Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States