Conway native helps 'bridge' gaps in Afghanistan

Photo By 1st Lt. Tomas Rofkahr | The Moqur Bridge before engineers started work.  

BAGRAM AIR FIELD, AFGHANISTAN

08.25.2008

Story by 1st Lt. Tomas Rofkahr 

Combined Joint Task Force 101

By Army 1st LT Tomas Rofkahr
Combined Joint Task Force - 101

BAGRAM AIR FIELD, Afghanistan – Conway native Capt. James Reid and his fellow Soldiers from the 420th Engineer Brigade, known as Task Force Castle, teamed up with an Australian Reconstruction Task Force to construct bridges on Afghanistan's main highway.

Do to their combined efforts, they recently completed the emplacement of two bridges near Andar and Moqur in eastern Afghanistan. Insurgent attacks during the summer left the bridges in each location impassible to both civilian and military traffic, forcing Afghans and coalition forces to use single-lane bypasses.

Work progressed quickly once the Australian and American combat engineers arrived on site. In just over two days, the first bridge in Andar was quickly erected and forces moved on to Moqur, where they emplaced the second bridge.

The stretch of Highway 1, or Kandahar to Kabul road, that the engineers worked on, is a paved route originally built in the 1960's that joins the two major Afghan cities. The 300-mile stretch that the bridges are located on was refurbished in 2002 and 2003 as part of President Bush's Afghanistan Road Initiative. According to USAID, the work was credited with reducing the transit time between Kandahar and Kabul by half.

In recent months, Highway 1 has become a focal point for insurgent activity. Both Taliban fighters and common bandits are targeting supply convoys and merchant traffic up and down the route. The bridge attacks were the latest in the Taliban's efforts to impede Afghanistan's reconstruction and stability.

The bridge attacks are a serious concern, but not a serious engineering problem to solve.
"Each section of the bridge is called a bay and is about 10 feet long," said Reid, Task Force Castle's assistant operations officer. "We were able to do a 10 bay bridge in two days."

Reid has seen a great deal in his 20 years of military service, with multiple tours in Iraq and now building bridges in Afghanistan.

"I'm excited to be involved in this," said Reid. "It's helping everybody, it's helping Afghanistan, it's helping the coalition forces and it's just a win-win for everyone."

• Date Taken: 08.25.2008
• Date Posted: 08.26.2008 20:04
• Story ID: 22902
• Location: BAGRAM AIR FIELD, AF