(12-24) 11:41 PST MAZAR-E-SHARIF, Afghanistan (AP) --

The U.S. Army soldiers stopped their van suddenly in the middle of a busy intersection, beckoned to the Afghan officer directing traffic from atop a concrete podium and handed him a shiny, new whistle.

The officer, who had been using a black-and-white striped club to keep traffic flowing, smiled at the soldiers, jammed the gift into his mouth and whistled them along.

Mission accomplished for a small team of Americans waging a sort of charm offensive in the northern Afghan city of Mazar-e-Sharif.

The soldiers have been handing out notebooks at schools, visiting refugee camps and playing with children in the streets, helping where they can with limited resources.

When they noticed the traffic officers did not have whistles, they went out and bought some.

"It gives them back the authority that's needed," said Bob, a member of the four-man civil affairs team that falls under the umbrella of the U.S. Special Forces.

Bob, a sergeant first class, and the other members of the team would identify themselves only by rank and first name.

"It's a U.S. presence to show we're here on friendly terms," said Herb, the captain heading the team. "If they see us, talk to us and we meet the people, by doing that, it shows that we're people, too, and they understand what we're doing."

The U.S. soldiers in town -- the Army has declined to reveal how many -- are already popular for helping throw out the Taliban, who allegedly massacred thousands of residents when they seized control of Mazar-e-Sharif in 1998.

Children cheer the Americans. Men line up to shake their hands. One Special Forces soldier impressed a crowd when he joined in the traditional game of buzkushi, jostling on horseback with other riders trying to grab a decapitated goat.

"They brought peace to us. They helped us," said Lal Mohammed, 37, chief of the Sahi refugee camp just outside Mazar-e-Sharif.

As he spoke, some U.S. soldiers were checking to make sure a Red Cross food distribution was going smoothly. Others were teaching kids new handshakes.

"We're not here to occupy. We're here to help. And especially the kids. We don't want them afraid of us, and they're not," said Herb.

When Herb stopped in the market Monday to buy notebooks and pencils to give out to students, he also got bubble gum for the street children, wishing the Muslim youngsters "Merry Christmas" as they mobbed him.

The captain was an imposing figure when he walked into a classroom dressed in desert camouflage, an M-16 rifle hanging across his back and a pistol strapped to his leg.

But in a city used to warriors and guns, none of the children at the dilapidated Star School flinched. They dutifully stood up one by one to recite their ABCs or count to 10 at his request.

Then the Army team passed out notebooks and pencils to each child.

Teachers thanked the men, but also sought help for other pressing needs -- desks and chairs, books and blackboards. Many students were absent because they did not have warm clothes or shoes, principal Uzra Wahizy said.

"They should rescue us from this situation," she said.

Herb took notes on their problems, which he will pass on to local aid agencies stretched too thin by the task of trying to feed and house people in the cold winter to visit schools now. He also appealed for private donations.

The team also has visited hospitals, power plants and refugee camps to assess their needs for the aid agencies.

"You want to do more but there's not a lot you can do," Herb said, pointing out that his team has a limited budget and the Army is not an aid organization.

-- Anonymous, December 24, 2001