Task Force Falcon soldiers patrol the streets, provide security and help the Kosovars rebuild after their internal conflict and the 77 days of NATO air strikes. Most of the soldiers here are in terrific shape so the majority of illness or injury I've seen have been civilian. Although it will take a long time for the hatred and vengeance between Serbs and ethnic Albanians in Kosovo to heal, village life is quickly returning to normal. Small shops have reopened and are stocked with everything from radios and washing machines to the latest fashions that would be right at home in a major department store. Roads that were once crowded with refugees fleeing the country are now clogged with cars, trucks and farmer's horse-drawn carts.
Deserted schoolyards are now full of active children playing soccer.
Once empty cafes are bustling late into the night. The sights and sounds of a country rebuilding fill the crowded streets. Danley has seen dramatic changes in the few months since he arrived with his unit from the 82 nd Airborne Division out of Fort Bragg, N.C., in June. All those questions have been answered during my stay here. Helping these people recover from the hardships they've had to endure makes me feel like I'm serving a purpose.