Photo By Staff Sgt. Ariel Solomon | Spc. Timothy Swanson, a native of Cedar Lake, Ind., and member of the 1413th Engineer...... read more read more
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KANDAHAR AIRFIELD, Afghanistan – The old bazaar on Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan, where local vendors once sold their goods to deployed Soldiers, fell into disuse some time ago. The corrugated steel-roofed stalls and tables left by the vendors had to be removed and the area prepared to be turned into a gravel lot.
The 1413th Engineer Company (Vertical), from the Indiana National Guard, with the help of the 220th Engineer Company (Horizontal), Missouri National Guard, both of which are attached to the 315th Engineer Battalion, tore down the bazaar and leveled the area in September, readying the space to be used once the airfield is turned over to Afghanistan.
“It's a big area that's been kind of degraded,” said Staff Sgt. Justin Weber, a member of the 1413th and native of Everton, Indiana. “The roof isn't in the best condition. If a high wind came in... heaven forbid someone get hurt.”
The structures were poorly constructed with mismatched bolts, poor welds and in some places, boards held together with string. Deconstructing the site required some of the Soldiers to learn new skills.
“A lot of the guys are glad to be working on it,” Weber said. “Its good work, it comes down quick, and I've been able to teach several of the Soldiers how to use the cutting torch. A lot of guys haven't ever used one before and it's always good to teach the Joes [Soldiers].”
A cutting torch is a tool that produces a high-heat jet flame to melt material in a controlled cut. Spc. Salvador Coronel, from Chicago, a horizontal construction engineer who serves with the 1413th, got his first taste of cutting metal with the torch on the work site under Weber's guidance.
“Along with getting the mission done, you also get to learn,” said Coronel.
The 220th, a horizontal engineer unit,, is responsible for the heavy equipment for the project. A horizontal engineer unit's job usually entails heavy equipment work such as building roads, making excavations and flattening areas for building. On the bazaar project they are the heavy lifters, trucking debris away from the site, putting the final touches on the gravel lot that will replace the bazaar, and ensuring the proper drainage from the site.
“Erase the ‘foot print’… we're doing everything we can to do that,” said Spc. Brittney Hanshew, a horizontal engineer from Charleston, West Virginia, attached to 220th Engineer Company. “It's going to look like a parking lot when it's done.”
All around KAF, engineers are removing temporary structures and working to ensure areas the military once occupied are left at least as good as they were before the coalition arrived in Afghanistan.
“The least negative impact we can leave behind when we leave the country, the better,” said Weber. “If we come into a country, make a big mess and then leave it for the locals to clean up, that doesn't leave a good impression. So if we clean up the mess we've made I think it leaves a better impact.”
| Date Taken: | 09.16.2014 |
| Date Posted: | 09.16.2014 04:18 |
| Story ID: | 142229 |
| Location: | KANDAHAR AIRFIELD, AF |
| Hometown: | CHARLESTON, WV, US |
| Hometown: | CHICAGO, IL, US |
| Hometown: | EVERTON, IN, US |
| Web Views: | 2,105 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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