As dawn breaks, Staff Sgt. Jason Gregory, 29, of San Antonio, Texas, a soldier with Company A, 2nd Battalion, 503rd Parachute Infantry Regiment, walks to the temporary command post atop a mountain in the Narang valley, in Kunar province, Afghanistan. Gregory and other soldiers were protecting a team during a two-day mission to direct air and artillery strikes on Taliban positions in the valley below. May 17, 2008. DREW BROWN/STARS AND STRIPES