DO NOT USEOn The Scene: Securing 'Ambush Alley'
CBS News Correspondent Lee Cowan is with the U.S. Navy Seals in Iraq where he filed this report.
The deeper the U.S. gets into Iraq, the deeper the trouble for U.S. supply lines, which grow longer by the day.
It's the equivalent of the pony express for military supplies, but this route has the name: "Ambush Alley". This is the kind of nickname U.S. Navy Seals are anxious to erase from the Iraqi playbook.
"Oh, I can't wait, we've been training for this for years," says a Navy Seal.
This secret Seals mission helped bridge the gap between the troops at the front and their supplies far behind.
"If we don't secure these areas, they can't push on to Baghdad," says the Seal.
The target: securing an airbase that would allow food, water and ammunition to be flown closer to the front, instead of driven through suicide bombers and Fedayeen snipers.
"Our whole reason for going in there is to make sure those supply lines are secure," the Navy Seal says.
On board is everything they need to secure the site, transportation and all.
"You can sustain out of those cars for a good four or five days," explains one Navy Seal.
This is the military's version of essentially moving in. This is not a quick trip in and out of Iraq. This time they're going in to stay.
And it's the length of that stay that's important. The airstrip will be the first permanent U.S. base inside Iraq -- a foothold that is as important a symbol as it is a logistical necessity.
And all this is accomplished by a few men on the ground who may change history, but want to remain anonymous in doing it.