Afghans, Coalition prepare for extreme weather

By Army Pfc. Daniel M. Rangel
22nd Mobile Public Affairs Detachment

SALANG DISTRICT, Afghanistan - With winter setting in, construction in Afghanistan is becoming increasingly difficult due to extreme weather conditions. For the first time since the beginning of the winter snow this year, U.S. service members made an assessment of key projects in the Parwan province, Dec. 22.

Air Force Maj. Timothy Gacioch, the Bagram Provincial Reconstruction Team surgeon from Clearfield, Utah, helped lead a convoy up the snow-covered Salang Pass to inspect an emergency aid station, which employs some of the best trained medical personnel in the region. The service members also inspected the Salang Tunnel, rumored to have the highest elevation of any other tunnel of its kind at 11,200 feet.

The locals are well-trained because many of the educated medical professionals of Afghanistan took refuge here high in the mountains while the rest of the country was under Taliban rule. And, although illness may be an ongoing problem, local medical personnel are ready, said Gacioch.

"(They're) doing good work here," Gacioch said. "They're keeping the vaccination rates up."

While the district's medical-preparation assessment was good, it still faces the many medical challenges of a population living at such a high elevation in winter.

On the other hand, the prognosis for winter construction is bleak.

"The snow is going to cause everything to stop," said Air Force Capt. Harry Jackson, Parwan civil affairs team chief and lead engineer.

Local contractors are not able to mix cement in such cold weather, which has caused much of the construction delays.

"Once the weather gets to a certain point, there's different ways to make concrete," Jackson said. "Once it gets to a certain temperature you have to add heat. Then you put an enclosure over the top of it and heat the enclosure. That will keep the concrete warm while it's curing. The key is that the water cannot freeze in the mixture. If the water is frozen in the mixture, it never actually forms concrete and just breaks apart."

But local contractors have not come up with an adequate way to implement these steps, so the problem has stopped construction on key projects such as the proposed Salang District Center.

"District center construction stopped when the snow started," Jackson said. "(The contractor) will not work again until probably sometime late March."

However, there are other projects that will go on despite the extreme temperatures such as the installation of a containerized schoolbook depository.

"The schoolbook storage foundation was a three-fold effort," Jackson said. "We're providing the foundation work and the roof. The Ministry of Education and a donor, DANIDA (Danish International Development Agency), is providing schoolbooks and storage containers."

The Afghan government has also taken ownership in the operation of the Salang Tunnel, which presents its own set of challenges. Generating electricity for light and ventilation are among the most important.

"We have two big generators for the tunnel," said Col. Atta Ullah, Ministry of Public Works. "With those generators, we get a heater, lights and everything for the tunnel."

Atta Ullah laid out a plan the Afghan government made to keep their generators running, giving Jackson reason to believe that the people of Salang District trust their own government to meet their needs.

"Over this summer, I've seen a lot of construction going on that's not ours, which is really good," Jackson said. "When you see the local population building their own communities and trying to improve themselves it's a very good sign. That means that they're finding confidence in their government."

With confidence in their government, even during the harsh winter months, the Afghans in Salang District have learned to stand on their own two feet.