For US troops in one of Afghanistan's riskiest areas, news of the start of their nation's withdrawal was nothing more than a passing distraction from the dangers of war.

Forces at Combat Outpost Sabari in the eastern province of Khost face regular gunfights, suicide attacks and roadside bombings from militants shuttling into Afghanistan from hideouts in Pakistan, just over the border.

For them, the notion of withdrawal seems a long way away.

"I think there will be US troops here for years, a decade, perhaps even a generation," said Sergeant Stewart Williams, 35, watching news of the announcement on the canteen television.

"It will take a long time for the Afghan government to get where it needs to be, and we will stay here in some way or other until that happens.

"Only then we will leave. I'm optimistic about our goals here but in the long-term," he said.

Another soldier, Specialist Aaron Morgan, 27, took a similarly long view.

"I guess this news means we'll be here for a few more years anyway," he said. "After that, someone will start something somewhere. There's always someone looking for a fight."

Foreign forces' combat operations will not finish in Afghanistan until the end of 2014 and highly volatile areas like the east are likely to retain heavy deployments even as all 33,000 US "surge" troops return home by next summer.

Far from scaling down its work, Combat Outpost Sabari is, like many other US positions in eastern Afghanistan, ramping up its presence.

Along with the south, the east is seen by US commanders as key to the fight due to its location next to Taliban sanctuaries in Pakistan.

Carpenters erect new billets ahead of extra platoons arriving, soldiers venture into villages they have never visited before, and commanders speak of aggressively taking on the insurgents and of victory.

"We are winning this war, there is no question about it," said Lieutenant Colonel Jesse Pearson, who controls US operations along the border of Khost with Pakistan.

"Troops numbers have surged here. We are doing multiple long-distance patrols every day and large operations into regions that have never seen us before. We are making space for the government to develop."

After 10 years of war, many bases like Combat Outpost Sabari are like small US settlements.

Home to 160 soldiers from 1-26 Infantry Battalion, it has a canteen decorated with stars and stripes banners, a busy gym and a basketball court below the clatter of helicopters bringing supplies of ammunition, Gatorade and chewing tobacco.

Every US soldier out on patrol in Afghanistan requires a massive support system ranging from air traffic controllers and truck engineers to chaplains and cooks.

The US troops also work alongside Afghan forces who are due to take control of security as foreign forces leave.

Some experts have raised concerns about the state of the Afghan army, particularly over issues such as Taliban infiltration, ethnic imbalances and a high turnover.

But Afghan soldiers in Sabari said there was nothing to fear in US President Barack Obama's schedule to bring home 10,000 troops this year and all 33,000 of the forces under last year's surge by next summer.

"We are becoming fit for the job," said Platoon Sargeant Mohammed Amman, welcoming planned peace talks with the Taliban and saying that his men would be ready to prevent civil war among competing insurgent groups and warlords.

Other US forces were also looking to the future.

Sergeant Ernest Baylor, a veteran at 38 who has two tours each of Iraq and Afghanistan to his name, said Obama's decision was one small step towards the end of a tough decade of deployments.

"I love this life, but the withdrawal means we might not make it out here again after this tour. This could be us done," he said.

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