When I learned soldiering, a major lesson was to never hold a position from where there is no retreat possible. And, with Stalingrad in mind, never to depend on air supply alone.
This sounds like a quite possible catastrophy in the making:
U.S. soldiers descended on a mountain ridge Sunday, setting up fortified posts and mortar positions overlooking a key Taliban transport route.
Their arrival marked the first time in years that soldiers from the U.S.-led military force had ventured into Baghran Valley, in northern Helmand province.
[…]
The position will allow U.S. forces to block the movement of Taliban fighters and supplies, said one of the officers, Lt. Col. Chris Toner.
[…]
[The] new encampment is remote – more than 60 miles from the nearest ground forces – but Wilson saw that as an advantage.
[…]
"The enemy did not suspect we would come up here," he said. "They believe they have a safe haven area up here, because it has been untouched by coalition troops for years."
Taliban supply route is targeted by U.S. troops in Afghanistan, AP, June 19, 2006
The classic attempt to do the like was a serious failure:
[T]he French undertook to create an air-supplied base, at Dien Bien Phu, deep in the hills of Vietnam. Its purpose was to cut off Viet Minh supply lines into Laos. Instead, the Viet Minh, under General Vo Nguyen Giap, were able to surround and besiege the French, who were ignorant of the Viet Minh’s possession of heavy artillery and their ability to move such weapons to the mountain crests overlooking the French encampment.
Battle of Dien Bien Phu, Wikipedia
The West has no strategy how to win in Afghanistan, nor a consensus on what could be won at all. This conflict will end like several others long attempts to occupy and pacify that country.
Lt. Col. Chris Toner’s battalion is in deep shit. He may not know it yet, but or his successor will learn that lesson too. 60 miles through enemy territory is a long way to walk.