>>
news, perugia.
>>>
in
afghanistan
it's day two of a new u.s.-led offensive pb the first since
president obama
announced a new
war plan
this week. officials say the 1,000 marines plus afghan forces have met little resistance and have killed at least seven taliban fighters. the aim of the operation is to disrupt taliban supply and communications lines in strategic
helmand province
in southern
afghanistan
.
>>>
meantime, the main u.s. airfield in southern
afghanistan
is now a
boom town
. it's preparing to receive the bulk of a 30,000 new american troops
president obama
is sending to
afghanistan
. our report from nbc's jim maceda.
>>
reporter: wherever you look, day or night,
kandahar airfield
is
bursting at the seams
. a hub for some 40,000 u.s. and nato troops fighting in southern
afghanistan
.
>>
it's going to be level with the street.
>>
reporter: lebanese-american builder came here for work but there's too much.
>>
we can't keep up. we're hiring more people. we're looking for more help every day.
>>
we're trying to get prepared for the forces coming in.
>>
reporter: now, 52-year-old paul eddinger, a colonel, engineer, and chief of expansion has no deal with a new surge.
>>
this is probably the most difficult job i have ever had to do in my entire life. i have been in the army for 30 years.
>>
reporter: where to house thousands more troops.
>>
solid as a rock
.
>>
reporter: specially weatherized tent cities are the short answer. so are the prefabs not quite self-contained.
>>
we had to go out and buy every little
fuse box
and every little panel, every piece of wire and cable.
>>
reporter: and what about water? in this desert, it's a nightmare.
>>
water did not just come streaming into this place. we have to drill wells, wells that are very, very deep.
>>
reporter: feeding the surging troops will be a 24/7 problem with little margin of error, but manageable. and then there's the issue of waste, lots of
human waste
. well, there's a plan for that, too. all of it is thoroughly treated and dried in these ponds and then recycled as fertilizer.
>>
the local population farmers love it. i mean, everything is green out there.
>>
reporter: but they will have to expand even more and there's nato-leased land to do it. but that's full of minefields that are just being cleared. still, eddinger says he's confident he can pull this off.
>>
setting up food and dining facilities.
>>
reporter: but then he says, he's retiring. jim maceda, nbc news, southern
afghanistan
.
>>>
much more on
afghanistan
tomorrow
“ ”