JUDY WOODRUFF, CNN ANCHOR: It's already well into Christmas Eve in Afghanistan. My colleague Bill Hemmer is with U.S. forces in Kandahar, keeping an eye on Operation Happy Holiday. Bill, is that what they are calling it?</s>BILL HEMMER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's what we are calling it, Judy, but for a lot of folks it is not necessarily such a happy holiday as it is a busy holiday. You know, what's amazing about this Marine operation, Judy, is that it's 24 hours a day running, and many times the heavy lifting starts actually when the it gets dark, when the sun goes down. Huge C-130, big cargo planes land throughout the night, bringing more supplies and more equipment on a nightly basis. In fact, that is ongoing at this time. I took a walk around the corner a short time ago: At this hour, Marines are sawing plywood and still constructing various things. They're moving cargo around the airport, once again trying to reestablish this airport for further operations, possibly by the U.S. Army, and some humanitarian aide by mid-January. That's on the slate for now, and so too is the holiday and Christmas Eve. It is 9:30 local time, Judy, and in about two and a half hours we will see midnight mass here in Kandahar, Afghanistan. Back with a lot more as we follow the U.S. Marines during the holidays, Judy. Back to you, and merry Christmas to you as well, Judy.</s>WOODRUFF: And merry Christmas to you, Bill. We look forward to hearing about all that. We will be getting back to Bill in just a few minutes. TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
U.S. Forces in Kandahar Prepare to Celebrate Christmas