Kandahar Air Field, Afghanistan - The 402nd Brigade Support Battalion is in the middle of change.

"You've come at the right time," Lt. Col. Steve Allen, the battalion's commander, recently said to me.  "There are a lot of things moving right now."

The 402nd is part of 5th Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division.  The brigade - totaling about 4,000 soldiers - deployed to Afghanistan in July of last year.

This movement stems from Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the top American commander in Afghanistan, who has requested for more troops on the ground.

McChrystal has warned that the United States faces possible "mission failure" unless it sends more forces.

He has argued that more troops are needed for the counterinsurgency strategy designed to protect the Afghan civilians in southern Afghanistan from the Taliban.

After a great deal of deliberation, the Obama administration recently said it will order 30,000 more soldiers and Marines into the area.  NATO has also promised to send up to 7,000 more soldiers.

At the center of this realignment of forces is the ancient city of Kandahar.

"The history of Afghanistan always was, always is, and always will be determined from Kandahar, said provincial Governor Tooryalai Wesa in a recent Wall Street Journal interview.

Ethnically a Pashtun city of 800,000, Kandahar is a crossroads on trade routes to Pakistan.

The Pashtuns, who make up 42 percent of Afghanistan's 34 million people, account for the vast majority of Taliban insurgents.

Outside the city, Kandahar Air Field (KAF) has become the busiest military airport in the world as it handles the increasing amount of materials and manpower pouring into southern Afghanistan.

A large part of McChrystal's strategy to prevent "mission failure" centers on moving American forces out of the rural areas and in toward the cities in order to protect Afghans from the Taliban.

To that end, Kandahar plays a large role in McChrystal's planning.

The Taliban came to power in the 1990s, in part on the strength of their ability to make the roads safe for traveler and truckers.  American led forces toppled the Taliban after the 9/11 attacks in 2001.

Now, insurgents, common criminals and corrupt police officers set up illegal checkpoints along the highways.  These actions have created insecurity among the Afghani and crippled the local economy.

McChrystal's plan addresses this problem by working to establish safe roads while also attempting to maintain the credibility of the American led coalition forces.

The logistics involved in pulling back American and NATO forces from the rural areas throughout southern Afghanistan in order to secure the area and highways around and leading into the city of Kandahar falls to units like the 402nd BSB.

While the brigade's mission will remain to supply the Stryker units with "beans and bullets," it must also figure out the nuts and bolts of force realignment.

Making the task even more difficult is the notorious winter weather at this time of the year.

It seemed to be on the mind of Sgt Maj. Charlie Chavez.

"This is not your standard convoy," he said as he talked with 55 soldiers involved in Operation Chicken Run II.

"This is going to be tough."

The mission was straightforward:  The soldiers from the 402nd were to take their 18 vehicles and move to Forward Operating Base (FOB) Lagman.  Once there, they would consolidate their convoy into a larger, 74-vehicle convoy, headed to two of the outermost FOBs under 5th Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division's control.

Getting to those two FOBS - named Massoud and Mizan - is difficult even in ideal conditions.

For example, not only would the convoy - comprised of heavy fuel tankers, wreckers, MRAPs (Mine Resistant, Ambush Protected) vehicles and load handling systems (LHS) designed to trailer other equipment out - have to traverse mountainous terrain and riverbeds, it also faced the distinct threat of improvised explosive devices, or IEDs, the signature weapon of the Taliban.

In a 60-day period along Route Chicken, there were 58 IED incidents reported along what passes for the road leading to FOB Mizan.

"It will be tough," said Spc. Lenny Van Scyoc.  "We will have to be smart about this."

While being aware of IED threats is vital, there also exists the challenge posed by equipment failure.  The MRAP, in particular, has proven to be somewhat unreliable when used on rough terrain.

And then there is Mother Nature.

In the case of Operation Chicken Run II, the weather in the form of rain and some snow proved to be the deciding factors.

"When the rain soaks the fine "moon dust" here, it can become very difficult for these vehicles to move safely," said SFC Brian Griffin. "It becomes very slippery and these big trucks will slide."

A slide can sometimes result in a roll over.  In that event, the convoy halts.

The rain had done its work, and by the end of the second day the route to Massoud and Mizan remained too treacherous to drive.

The mud had won, and the operation was called off.  But only for a while.

"We'll be back," said 1st Sgt. Henry Ortega later that evening.  "We know were into something big here, and we will do our mission."