captions paid for by nbc-universal television good morning 0, everyone. welcome to "today" on a sunday morning. i'm lester toelt reporting from afghanistan. >> and i'm jenna wolfe. lester, nice to see you. only two days after joint operations between american and afghan forces were set to be returning to normal, there was another deadly attack yesterday. >> jenna, good to see you as well. yes, the death toll here has climbed steadily in recent months following attacks by afghan army and police against american and coalition troops. we'll have more on this breaking story in just a moment. also a bit later i'll sit down with u.s. service people, both men and women to talk about what life is really like here in the danger zone. and then, lester, arnold schwarzenegger is talking about the affair that ended his marriage. he is spilling it all in an autobiography and has admitted to a fling with a co-star. plus, an unusual kind of discipline, a father posts a photo of his 3-year-old daughter wearing a sign where she confesses to having a kind of accident that toddlers have. is it wrong to share these kinds of images online? hear what some parents are saying. getting back to policy overseas, lester, you just returned from the part of the country -- you returned from where the insider attack occurred. what are troops saying about it over there? >> yeah, i was in the east part of the country here looking at special operation forces now partnering with their afghan partners. there were afghan commandos alongside american commandos, live weapons fire. they say this is what they have to do. this is the mission to train and eventually get afghan forces ready to take over. they can't afford a pause in these operations, but they're all thinking about this. every soldier i've spoke ep to about this admits they are uncomfortable. these insider attacks give them pause but at the same time there is an operational tempo they have to keep. richard engel joins me here in our location in kabul. you have new details about the attack that happened in the east here this morning. >> reporter: 20% of u.s. combat deaths are now caused by these insider attacks. this latest one took place yesterday in wardak province. the american troops were setting up a checkpoint there, a vehicle control point, two afghan soldiers approached. we're not sure what is said. then one of these two soldiers pulled out his weapon, opened fire, killed one american soldier, killed one american contractor. then other american troops in the area responded and they killed at least three afghan soldiers and we're still waiting for some clairification on exactly what happened from the afghan government and the u.s. government is trying to put together a consistent story. >> you know u.s. troops have been on high alert all weeklong, everywhere i've gone with u.s. troops, and even in cases where we're able to relax a bit and take off our body armor, there are some soldiers that remain armed and ready. these are the guardian angels now in many cases on alert. >> reporter: well, right now the mission is for american troops and marines to stay with the afghans, to train them, to be partners, buddies, if you will. but at the same time they're being told keep your distance. so when medical training takes place, when fire exercises take place, now american troops will have a bodyguard standing by, and that definitely erodes trust and it cuts away at the mission. for years we've been seeing orders coming down telling american troops, take off your helmets, take off your sunglasses, and now we're seeing orders, yes, build trust but make sure you have a bodyguard present. >> richard engel with me in kabul. richard, thank you very much. and continuing on that thought, to a person, u.s. commanders i've spoken to over the past week are bullish on the prospects of turning this war over to afghan security forces. there's no question they are making visible progress on a lot of fronts but attacks like today remind us how delicate the process and u.s. policy are. setting out on the road, the physical and spiritual heart of the taliban is a journey often fraught with uncertainty. these soldiers jammed inside a striker combat vehicle know the taliban still fights hard for this land and regularly planned ieds along the way. you've lost some guys to ieds? >> absolutely. we've had a number of guys wounded and a number of guys killed both mounted and dismounted. >> lately, however, the americans don't make the journey alone. afghan troops and police man checkpoints along the way. lieutenant general james terry, the operational commander of the war, brought us here to see for ourselves the robust presence of their afghan partners. >> you look at these afghan national security forces, here is what's very different, very different from two years ago, moving out and taking charge of this. >> training the afghans to take over the war is practically the singular focus of the international coalition as of 2014 withdrawal date draws closer. >> and as they become increasingly more capable, we'll skill up some of that advice and assist and then over time they have the lead completely. we're not kicking the crutches out from underneath them. >> over here is the mosque where omar in 1994 established the taliban and now today u.s. and afghan troops patrolling this village with relative impunity. but there is an undeniable tension that now looms over joint operations like these. that's because of the insider attacks in which members of afghan security forces have turned their guns on their american and other coalition partners. >> it does shake the confidence of the soldiers out there. a lot of this hard fighting that you've seen down here is shared hardship with the afghan national security forces. >> worried about undoing the results of those shared hardships, the afghans are now taking steps to better vet their people. are you worried about trust between the u.s. and afghan forces being destroyed? >> we trust them and they trust us. it is no different. but the act is an individual act and something that happened. >> you're not fearful the taliban have infiltrated the afghan army? >> they have tried to. we filter 0 our people, also. >> u.s. and afghan commanders agree they cannot afford to disrupt the pace of joint operations, the ability to stand together on the spiritual doorstep of a taliban makes a powerful military and psychological statement for both armies. and for sergeant chad sparks who chose to re-enlist at this very spot, a reminder of why he and his fellow american soldiers are still in the fight. >> this ought to be a great place to enlist and show that i had a lot of honor for why we're here be a what we're doing here. >> in our next half hour we'll talk with an army recruit who is going through basic training about why she enlisted at this time of war. we want to turn now to politics and the question of why we're hearing so little about the war in afghanistan during the race for the white house. let's bring in nbc's david gregory, moderator of "meet the press." david in 2008 candidate obama talked about this war as the war we must win. this time around he notedly talks about winding down the war. mitt romney didn't even mention it in his convention speech. why does this not seem to be a major interest in a campaign? >> the stakes are so high, lester, as you know being on the ground there. i think there's a couple of reasons. from the republican point of view, they want distance from the bush presidency, particularly the bush foreign policy of engagement in war in afghanistan and iraq. from the president's point of view, he wanted to narrow the focus, talk about al qaeda, defeat al qaeda. the crowning achievement killing osama bin laden. the nation building work in afghanistan is frankly something that became too difficult, too entrenched for the american people to keep up with. we are there longer than the soviets were there. i think there's a recognition that that job was simply too difficult, the notion that we were going to turn around the government, really be able to rebuild the country. there is a phrase that general petreas used, was iraq good enough and now is iraq good enough, safe enough, stable enough so u.s. forces can come home? >> when you look it at the positions between president obama and mitt romney, is there a lot of daylight in their views of the policy regarding afghanistan? >> frankly, there's not. romney will criticize the president for announcing a firm deadline for 0 withdrawal of u.s. forces. it's long been thought by republicans that doing so would allow the taliban, particularly the taliban that's holed up in pakistan and that crosses freely into afghanistan, giving them that heads-up that they can just wait america out and then do their damage. the reality is that there's been a negotiation with the taliban and the coalition forces. the taliban is likely to have some role in ruling afghanistan is disappointing and as tragic as that may be to people around the world, that is a definite possibility as we move forward. >> david, a quick question about the debates now three days away. right now the latest gallup poll shows the president with the six-point lead. historically how much impact do these debates have on elections? >> well, they can have a lot of impact. it's a high-profile moment, tens of millions of people watching. as you look at the national number and you look at the spread and you look he battleground state, on the order of seven points that mitt romney has to make up, it's a lot of ground to try to move if you have a smaller pool of undecided voters. that's a big hurdle right now for mitt romney. >> and what do you have coming up on "meet the press" this morning, david? >> the state of the race, governor chris christie, white house adviser david plouffe. >> david gregory, thank you very much. and, jenna, before i throw it to you, let me let you know once again we have a good crowd of soldiers here who have joined us at our location in kabul. it's okay to wave. and we're going to be talking to them and let them say hi to the folks at home later in the broadcast. for now, we'll send it back to you. >> lester, thanks. i love the fact they took the time to to make signs. they make signs wherever the "today" show goes. that's wonderful to see. lettser, thank you. now let's head over to the news desk and craig melvin. good morning to you. good morning, everyone. we start with some drama in southern california where work on tearing down and rebuilding the mulholland bridge overpass had to stop temporarily saturday when an old pillar from the bridge fell onto a new section. th is all part of the so-called carmageddon two weekend that has closed down ten miles of the busiest highway in the country. officials say thanks to lighter traffic than normal they are on schedule to reopen for monday morning's commute. good news football fans, the nfl's regular referees will be back on the field today. they approved a new eight-year deal with their league saturday by a lopsided vote of 112-5. some refs went back to work as soon as there was a tentative deal thursday in baltimore ending three weeks of complaints from players, coaches, fans, even president obama and governor romney. thousands of conservative christians gathered on philadelphia's independence mall for a nonpartisan rally to pray for the future of the nation. a with a little more than five weeks to the presidential elections, they urged those in attendance to pray for the political candidates and vote. former "new york times" publisher arthur sulz berger is being celebrated as a first amendment giant. sulzberger who led "the times" died saturday at his home in southampton, new york, after a long illness. he was 86. and wedding bells have chimed for actress ann hathaway. she married filmmaker adam shulman on the california coast saturday night in front of 180 casts. hathaway is 29. shulman is 31. they dated four years before becoming engaged last november. that's the news. now back over to jenna and dylan. thank you very much. very nice story. congratulations to them. dylan dreyer is here with a check of your forecast. gorgeous here in new york. it is gorgeous. can you believe it's the last day of september? >> no. >> time is just racing by. we are going into october, and, you kn racing buy. we're going into october, and you know in some areas, it's going to feel like it. it will be damp, cooler than average. down into the gulf coast. look at shrevport. and isolated tornadoes are possible along with damaging winds and some of the most severe storms that develop later on today. the rest of the country is looking pretty quiet. temperatures in the lower 60s and hot in the southwest. last a look at the weather across the country, now here is yours. good sunday morning to you, i'm chuck belle. we're tuf a very pleasant start here. a lot of upper 40s on the map across parts of northern and that's your latest forecast. jenna? >> dylan, thank you. up next on "today," would you post an image like this of your child online? one father did and it's sparking a big debate right after this. i've discovered gold. 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[ crowd cheering, mouse clicks ] is it cute or is it cruel? a father's online post of his toddler has parents debating the issue and asking about public sharing in a digital age. here is nbc. >> reporter: little did this 3-year-old know when she decided to go to the bathroom in the shower that it would end up on the internet. after cleaning up the mess, her dad posted this picture online that sparked a huge debate among parents over whether public punishment is going too far. >> i'm looking at this as a humiliation that will keep on humiliati humiliating. >> reporter: one person online called the dad a truly horrible parent. but another wrote, it's just like dog shaming but with kids. too cute. >> do you know about the trash? >> reporter: it's hard to imagine that online photos of pets will hurt many feelings -- >> this right here is my .45. >> reporter: but earlier this year a north carolina father shot his daughter's laptop nine times after he said she was disrespectful. he then uploaded the va for the world to see. in canton, ohio, this month one mother made her two kids stand on a busy street holding up this sign. and years ago in park city, utah, another woman made her 10-year-old wave a similar poster after she said he was caught stealing from seven stores. >> it's not okay to sit a child out there and humiliate him in public. >> reporter: other parents might di disagree calling it not humiliation but discipline. we reached out to the father and didn't hear back, but whether the online response might change his behavior is anyone's guess. for "today" gabe gutierrez, nbc news. >> i have a hard time with that one. >> here is the thing, even if you discipline your child in a way that's questionable, why poets it? why put it online? what's gained by that? >> that child can't even read what is said on the sign that the child was wearing. not that it's right to do anyway. >> i feel bad for the pet shaming, the dog shaming, and then to throw a 3-year-old in it, i don't know. >> i think we all agree. i'm going to give it a thumbs down. still to come on a sunday edition of "today," arnold schwarzenegger opens up about his personal life in his new book. but first these messages. ♪ [ female announcer ] gross -- i'll tell you what's really gross: used dishcloths. they can have a history that they drag around with them. for a cleaner way to clean try bounty extra soft. in this lab demo, one sheet of bounty extra soft leaves this surface 3 times cleaner than a dishcloth. it's super durable too. it's the cleaner way to clean. bring it with bounty extra soft. in the pink pack. and try bounty napkins. [ music playing ] [ music playing ] welcome back to afghanistan where the joint command headquarters in had kabul. yesterday i asked you, invited you if you wanted to tweet some questions, we would try to answer them on the air. we had a couple more i wanted to get to to. the first one, let's see, to our troops and the "today" show crew, how are you managing? the "today" show crew is managing fine thanks to the troops because when we are operating at military bases or embedding as i did much of the week, we stay in military facilities, sometimes they're tents. this particular trip it was a lot better. we thank the military. the real question is, how are you guys coping? who wants to answer? how are you coping? >> i'm coping all right, sir. >> coping all right? >> i'm coping all right. got good friends around me and family. >> how are you coping? >> we're doing great, lester. enjoying it out here and taking care of business. >> you have your own family here, right, for the time being? >> absolutely, sir. >> thanks for answering that question. another question we have if i can find it, how long did it take to prep for the trip? well, for us we can pull off these trips in a couple of days if we have to. in this case i started kicking the idea around maybe three, four weeks ago, and we started putting the planning in place, moving in satellite gear, are getting pro-dueducers lined up working with the military to get us credentialed and to help them to help us to get the places where we needed to be to tell the story and they have been very cooperative and we are thrilled, thrilled to be back here. there's a lot more as we continue on "today." what's it really like to serve in afghanistan? soldiers talk about life in a danger zone coming up. so despite the danger, young people continue to answer the call to serve. we'll talk to one young soldier in basic training and give her a very special surprise. why do we have aflac... aflac... and major medical? major medical, boyyy, yeah! 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[ beatboxing ] one try can relieve your nightly congestion without the blowing the stacking the steaming. that's the transformative power of one ingenious little breathe right. try one free at breatheright.com and open your nose instantly. feel the power of air sleep like you mean it and rise to mornings alive with activity. breathe better, sleep better. one free try is all it takes. it's your right to breathe right! this is a news 4 news break. good morning, 8:26 on this sunday, september 30th, i'm richard jordan. topping your news for today, police release the identities of two people in a small plane crash. 48-year-old john morton jr., and his 18-year-old son died in the crash. it happened near the river heights mobile home park in fredericksberg. police are on the hunt for a driver that hit and killed a pedestrian and then drove off. it happened last night on silver hill road. it happened last night. officers are looking for a white chevy impala, they have not released welcome back, will the great weather we had yesterday stick around for this sunday? good morning, chuck. good morning, bleaks of sunshine here in the front half of the day, and most of us don't need to worry about rain today, but there will be a chance for quick little showers to bubble up later on this afternoon, especially for you folks north of the washington area towards montgomery county. for now, everyone is rain free, temperatures in the upper 40s to mid-50s. a mix of clouds and sunshine today. mainly to the north, if you have outdoor plans, e would not channel them. any rain showers we glet be short loved. tomorrow, back to work and school. rain chances return late monday night into tuesday. we are back on a sunday morning, september 30th, 2012. what a great crowd out on the plaza joining us this morning. we want to thank them for spending at least a part of their weekend with us. i'm jenna wolfe here in new york. my partner, lester holt, is in afghanistan. hey, lester. hey, jenna. good to see you. i could have somebody order a crowd to show up and that's what happens when you have soldiers. you order them to be here. we are thrilled to have a great crowd of soldiers and our crowd here on the plaza many thousands of miles away from new york. thanks for being here. we have jersey guys up there on top of that and from chicago and california. a lot of folks here. and, you know, a lot of the folks here are missing some important dates. we have a marine back here, you're missing a pretty important thing back home. >> i have 8-year-old triplets that had a birthday recently. i was here and sorry to miss that. mom is keeping them busy at home. >> what's your name? >> i'm drew from maryland. >> what are their names? >> abigail faith, madison hope, and arianna love. >> happy birthday to them and thanks for your service. we'll talk to more of you. don't go far as we continue here from the joint command headquarters in kabul. delighted to be here. still to come in this half hour, i sit down with u.s. service members in afghanistan to talk about what life is really like in a danger zone, the things they face day-to-day from the dangers to the separation. plus, despite the danger, young people are still enlisting. and we're going to talk to a recruit going through basic training at ft. jackson, south carolina. she doesn't know yet, but we have an incredible surprise planned for her and jenna will find out what that is coming up. >> looking forward to that, lester. also ahead, arnold schwarzenegger recently wrote a book and it was a tell-all about his life. he discusses the mistakes he made in his marriage and he details how he told his wife about his affair with their housekeeper. our report is coming up. then, we're going to switch gears and we're going to talk a little bit about embracing your beauty at any age whatsoever with "today" editor bobbi brown. she has brought friends to discuss overcoming insecurities and defining beauty on your own terms. we'll chat with her. there's a lot of giggling going on behind me. are you saying something about lester that i should pass along or -- no, just random giggling. you know how that goes on a sunday morning. first, a check of the weather with dylan dreyer, surrounded by pink. hey, dylan. you can't miss this crowd. a group of high school students from virginia. what is pink'd? >> pink'd is a fund-raiser that students host. we host a pink event every year. this is the loudoun breast health network. we raised over $40,000 for breast cancer awareness and local charities. >> $40,000 and they're all in high school and they took a van up here, too. i they're all in high school and they took a van up here as well. thank you for what you're doing. as for the weather, we're talking about the heat out west. we're looking at temperatures from ten to 15 degrees above normal. temperatures in california today in the 90s. we're going to see 102 in the desert southwest. heavy rain and strong storms. we could see an isolated tornado, wind gusts as well, and tomorrow, triple digits possible in l.a. it is extreme heat and then that threat moves farther east. that's a look at the weather across the country. now here is a peak out your window. >> good sunday morning to you, i'm chuck bell, sun is shining for now here in wug, our current hems are in the 40s and 50s across the area. it will be middle enough today with highs in the low 70s. 56 in capital heights and district heights. there is your four-day forecast. there will be a chance of a quick passing shower this and, of course, for the latest on your weather go to weather.com. and "today" is sunday. that means tonight is football night in america. we are talking about new york heading on down to philadelphia to 0 take on the eagles. a few showers. 57 to 61. most of the game really looks dry. it's just going to be a couple of spotty showers and lots of clouds, too. jenna? dylan, thank you. arnold schwarzenegger says if his life were a movie, no one would believe it. so now he's telling his story his way. we take a look at his new revealing book. >> reporter: a seven-time mr. olympia, hollywood action hero, and governor of california. arnold schwarzenegger has played many roles. >> this story you know. so are you ready for the story you don't? >> reporter: now comes his memoir, "total recall: my unbelievable true life story" in which the actor and politician pulls back the curtain on his personal life. writing candidly about the infamous affair with his lo longtime housekeeper that produce add son and destroyed his marriage to maria shriver. so you lied to her? >> you could say that. >> reporter: in an interview with cbs' "60 minutes" schwarzenegger says shriver had been suspicious for years. he finally confirmed the affair during a marriage counseling session the day after he left office. >> i think it was the stupidest thing i've done in the whole relationship. it was terrible. i inflicted tremendous pain on maria and unbelievable pain on the kids. >> reporter: schwarzenegger admits to a, quote, hot affair with co-star bridgette nielsen. at the time he was living with shriver. he says the fling helped him realize he wanted to marry shriver, writing that she supported him throughout his movie career, but had doubts about his potential political career. after a heart to heart with her mother, eunice kennedy shriver, maria gave him her bless to go run for governor. >> and this is why i'm going to run for governor of the state of california. >> reporter: but schwarzenegger is holding 0 out for a happy ending to their love story. >> he talks about just how he hopes that one day his family will be able to come back together. >> reporter: for "today," nbc news, los angeles. up next, makeup maven bobbi brown is here to talk beauty and empowerment after these messages. and get more of what you love walgreens for. it's easy to get points on everyday purchases, and easy to redeem them for just about anything anyone in your family could want. just make sure you save enough points for a little something for yourself. sign up today, in-store or online. it's instant points and endless rewards. and it's all right here. at the corner of happy and healthy. with your favorite instant coffee same great taste, now with a great new look that can be ready in a... 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[ crowd cheering, mouse clicks ] on "today's woman" discovering the beauty within each of us. bobbi brown talks to women of all ages as they open up about their personal challenges and accomplishments. it is called "pretty powerful the" bobbi is here with liz murray, known for chronicling her journey, chriscal gainer and writer all featured in this book. good morning to all of you. thanks for being with us this morning. >> good morning. >> bobbi, let me start with you. so many beautiful pictures photographed. the footage was so stunning in this book. why this one? what was the message in this book compared to the others that you've written? >> it's a makeup book because i am a makeup artist but this is about women's stories to help you understand who we all are and to help empower other women that anyone can feel good about themselves. >> i like the way you broke this down. you sectioned it off. you sectioned it on liz is pretty authentic, crystal is pretty strong, and ann is pretty classic. why divvy up the book this way? >> all of us have different parts of our personality and once a woman understands who she is, there's a pretty bold chapter, there's a pretty natural chapter. it's about discovering your personality and your style. >> okay. >> and having tips for that. >> all right. so let's get into it a little bit. liz is here first and, liz, in bobbi's book she talks about your homeless to harvard -- >> my favorite book of all time. >> liz, you wrote a memoir as well. you've been through so much adversity. does it change the way you see the word beautiful based on your past and how far you've come? >> definitely now. i think when i was younger i had this externalized definition of beauty. i saw myself through other people's eyes and i tried to determine, am i beautiful according to that and to them and that standard. later in life, it's like bobbi said when you know yourself, then being in touch with that at this phase, i feel like my definition of beauty has more to do with authenticity, being myself. and that's why i love "pretty powerful" so much and this book and experience is about that expression of who you are. >> you were pregnant at the time of your photo shoot. you had a son. >> yes. >> you are expecting again. >> yes. five months. yeah, thank you. >> has that changed what beauty means, being a mom? >> oh, sure. >> that being another one? >> oh, my gosh, well, he lights up my whole world, my son. and now we're expecting a daughter and, yeah, definitely. that really makes me more grounded and no matter what's going on in my day i feel like there's always at least one good thing that i can fall back on and that's my family. >> what a great thing to say. >> happiness is your best cosmetic for beauty. >> great, great, smart words. crystal, you are the post 0er child for the concept of aging beautifully. can i ask your age? it tells me to ask in my notes? i'm not being rude here. >> i'm 56 years old. >> you are a trainer, you are a mother -- >> yes. >> you have this incredible quote that i love. you say don't lay down in your problems. you're obviously very grounded and you're full of confidence. where does that come from? and i guess, does that come out as beauty? >> it does come out as beauty and it actually comes from women that i've been exposed to my whole life, my mother, my grandmother 0, my sisters, my nieces. women like bobbi, i try to surround myself with women that, you know, they've gone through challenges but the challenges don't necessarily keep them down. they understand that it's a part of life and they learn how to move through the clal engs. >> and beauty comes with good energy and this woman is full of good energy. >> and confidence. >> you talked a lot about that. >> exactly. >> you are one of the most grounded people, a lot of confidence. ann, let me turn to you. when it comes to beauty, why do you think it is that some of us feel we have to conform to a standard of beauty? and you are very open about the fact that you don't have to, that beauty is who you are and what you make of it. >> right. well, i think when i was younger, i was very focused on looking like that person or having that woman's legs, and as i've gotten older, i want my appearance to reflect who i am on the inside. and also for me beauty is much about health and nutrition, taking care of myself now versus the quick fix diet. >> and beauty personally as opposed to beauty professionally one and the same? >> for me, yes. >> and i would imagine for all of you very important for you, real quick, to talk about diversity in the book and how beauty transforms and transcends all these different platforms. >> it's not about looking like a barbie doll. these women are stunning and all women are beautiful. women just have to learn that they are and then they can be. >> well, i thank you guys so much for joining us today, ann, crystal, liz, bobbi. >> thank you so much. >> it's a great message for women of all ages. very important. a great read. bobbi's brown book is called "pretty powerful." go out and read it. life and duty in afghanistan, lester talks with soldiers about what it's really like. but first these messages. for the first week... i'm like...yeah, ok... little did i know that one week later i wasn't smoking. 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[ male announcer ] ask your doctor if chantix is right for you. there are 68,000 american men and women serving here in afghanistan. they are all, of course, volunteers. it's a volunteer military. each has his or her own reasons for being here. we wanted to find out why they're here and what their struggles are of being a soldier in afghanistan. i sat down with a few recently and began by asking them what a good day here in afghanistan means. >> a good day for me is when i'm bored, when there's nothing happening. that's a good day because i'm in medevac, so if we're not called out for a mission, there's no one in our general area that needs to be picked up. >> so what's a bad day? >> a bad day is getting called for back-to-back missions. those are mret pretty bad days. >> how do you separate those bad days from the fact that you have to continue to do your duty and live your life? >> it's my job. i go out, i do what i have to do, accomplish the mission, take care of the soldiers. and then when i'm done, i just go back and try to destress. something impacted me hard, i'll find someone to talk to. >> sergeant crosby, you are out in the field where the bombs are falling and the bullets are firing, how do you describe your life to people back home? >> i guess the easiest way is it's probably 23 hours if you divide it up into a day of boring, relaxing, and one hour at the most the most chaotic, every emotion you can think of rushing through your body, and hope play you're shaking hands with your buddies, everybody climbing back in the trucks when it's all over. >> there's a tough reality of what you do. do you sanitize it when you call home and talk to friends and fami family? >> i don't tell them anything. nothing at all. >> you don't think they want to know or you don't want to tell them? >> both. >> anytime you step foot off this base, you're in a danger zone because of the nature of this war, so is there really any safe place here? >> i don't know if there's really any safe place, but i know i have guardian angels around me. i have buddies around me. i know they're watching out for each other. >> you've seen some pretty awful things. how do you compartmentalize that? >> it's a job. it's a duty. i wouldn't say put it behind you but you deal with it and you also have -- you're never out there alone. you have your buddies dealing with the same thing. >> what was it like to watch the world change in 2001? i mean, when those towers fell, i mean, did you immediately make the connection that, i'm going to work? >> well, i kind of viewed it as we always trained and we're always at work and we're ready to answer the nation's call. but when those towers fell on that day, we knew that it could could be closer than we had thought. >> you've been in the service 22 years and you've seen a lot of recruits come and go. what's been the quality of individuals who have come on knowing they're going to war? >> i will tell you that they're pretty remarkable. for whatever reason they joined, this is for -- i know that i'm going to get it deployed, i know i'm going to be in harm's way, and i want to contribute and be a part of something that's bigger than myself. >> do you get a sense from back home that the level of interest in the war? >> as far as my friends and family, they're still interested. they still want to know what's going on. they care about the soldiers. they care about the soldiers' families. they send packages. as far as my awareness, the people are still there for us. >> on the larger scale, i don't know. i don't think anybody -- everybody supports the soldiers, i believe. whether or not you think it's the right war or the wrong war, everybody supports the soldiers and at the end of the day for me that's truly all that matters. >> you got in the military in the late '90s. >> correct. >> this was a peacetime military. >> oh, yeah. >> you went from zero it to 60 overnight. how many deployments in the war zone? >> this is number eight. >> number eight? i hear that and i think you've given enough in spades. >> well, i don't know. i grew up with you never quit until the job is over and i don't think the job is over yet. >> a remarkable group of people. i said it the last time i was here and i'll say it again, you meet the individuals who are fighting this war and you are humbled. i want to talk to some of those folks, though, right now. i told you i'd be back to talk to you. let me quickly work the crowd. who are you and who is this baby? >> this is my first grand baby. this is tianna marie born on the 18th and she is in tampa. >> and when do you get to see her? >> i don't know. maybe in a couple of months. >> well, congratulations. and you can't wait for christmas? come on. >> i cannot wait for christmas. i'll be meeting my wife in a chalet in switzerland. i love you, baby. love you lots. and my family as well in scarborough, maine. >> this guy is a big sports fan, aren't you. >> a huge sports fan. >> georgia, right? >> brad rice. >> great to have you. we had a sailor yesterday. i talked about soldiers, we had a sailor somewhere. i didn't want to leave you guys out. >> go navy. >> where are you from? >> new jersey. >> great to have you here. go navy. >> thanks a lot. >> my army friends. who are these cuties? >> asher and tristan. >> armed forces network. and the birthday here for your guys? >> it's my boy ryan. his birthday is october 10th. >> all right. we're thrilled that you all are here. we're going to be back with a bit more in just a moment. ♪ ♪ i woke up to a new day ♪ every little thing gonna go my way ♪ ♪ i woke up to a light bulb on ♪ every little thing is possible now ♪ [ female announcer ] kraft singles have no artificial flavors and they're always made with milk so all you taste is something amazing. ♪ life is amazing with the love that i found ♪ ♪ like a squirrel stashes nuts, you may be muddling through allergies. try zyrtec® liquid gels. nothing starts working faster than zyrtec® at relieving your allergy symptoms for 24 hours. zyrtec®. love the air. [ male announcer ] every time you say no to a cigarette you celebrate a little win. nicorette gum helps calm your cravings and makes you less irritable. quit one cigarette at a time. j.d. power and associates has ranked quicken loans "highest in customer satisfaction in the nation." call or go to quickenloans.com to discover for yourself, why we're engineered to amaze. welcome back. over the past week here in afghanistan i've witnessed firsthand the remarkable commitment, dedication, and sacrifice of our men and women in uniform. and today young people continue to answer the call to serve their country and join the military. private victoria is going through basic training. good morning. it's great to have you on. i have to ask you, someone who joins the military this time knows there's a good chance they'll join the rest of these folks here in afghanistan. what drove you to want to join the military? >> hi, how are you? what drove me to join the military was that i was straight out of high school and i wanted to go to college, but i didn't have any scholarships but my father, who is an active duty marine actually encouraged me to join the army. so it's been working out. >> has your father served in afghanistan? >> actually, that's a great question, because he's right the there. he's there right now currently deployed. >> he's here right now? can you describe -- is he like a bald guy, maybe 5'11", 5'10", somewhere in there? come here. >> yes, he is. >> come here. does he look anything like this? >> victoria, how are you doing, sweetheart? >> hi, dad. >> hey. excuse me, i should have said soldier. congratulations, i'm very proud of you. >> i graduated. >> so let's go over, lester, if we may, victoria, let's go over your talking points real quick. now the real truth of the matter, letts ster, is she want serve her country and college is her second choice, is that correct? >> yes, college was a second choice. being here has made me so proud. >> well, i have to tell you, victoria, i served -- we serve with young men and women just like yourself every single day. i am incredibly proud of your generation and you are a perfect example of the generation of americans that come up behind us and after 24 years in the corps when i retire, i know our defense is well taken care of. good job, sweetheart. excuse me, soldier. >> what do you say, victoria? >> i just want to say that i am so proud of my dad and i'm so proud of myself and that i made it and i'm here to serve and i'm just so proud. >> well, we're all proud of you. i'm going to get choked up here, too. thanks so much for your service and yours as well and you let her join the army. marine. >> hey, what's wrong with the army? all right. all right. >> victoria, congratulations and lieutenant colonel, thanks so much. thanks to all of you for being here and for what you do. we're all proud of you. a quick program note before we say good-bye. nbc news special coverage called "at the brink" continues tonight on "nbc nightly news," some of the most dangerous conflicts around the world and what's at stake for americans here at home. >> all right, lester, please, get home safely. great work over there. we'll see you when you do. have a great day, everyone. bye-bye. new this morning, an unfortunate milestone in the war in afghanistan. the death toll for u.s. troops has now reached 2,000. >> a nail biting day for nats fans, is today the day the team pulls off a division title. welcome to news 4 today. >> thank you for joining us. also new this morning, not one, but two rare earthquakes rattled the southwest region overnight. we'll get details on that. >> and incredible video to show you. the powerful storm that did