BAGRAM AIRFIELD, Afghanistan — The Afghan Army will soon form its National Engineer Brigade (NEB) to help lead construction and development of its country.
The new organization, backed by U.S. military engineer advisers, will take on civil responsibilities such as developing infrastructure and building up Afghanistan through construction projects, contract management, and related engineer tasks, according to coalition partners.
In fact, Afghan National Army (ANA) engineers already have begun deploying at the regional level throughout Afghanistan to conduct various construction and combat engineer missions.
The battalion-sized 205th Corps Engineer Kandak (CEK) in southern Afghanistan recently constructed a new road, and many Afghan route clearance companies have taken the lead in patrolling for and removing improvised explosive devices, or IEDs, along roadways throughout the country.
“Afghan Army engineers are very good at route clearance, building maintenance, and construction and maintenance of roads,” said Afghan Lt. Col. Khair Mohommad, 205th Corps Engineer.
With local and regional engineer units deployed and operating, a national-level military engineer force is considered the next step.
The development of the NEB, expected to be complete this winter, is being supported by coalition advisers, including leaders from the U.S. Theater Engineer Brigade known as Joint Task Force Triple Nickel – a team of about five-thousand American engineer soldiers, sailors, and airmen spread across Afghanistan and led by the 555th Engineer Brigade headquarters from Joint Base Lewis-McChord near Tacoma, Wash.
“We are honored to advise and assist in the development of this important Afghan organization,” said Col. Nicholas Katers, commander of JTF Triple Nickel.
“As the coalition’s theater engineer brigade, we will stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the Afghan National Engineer Brigade as they deploy nationwide in service to their country,” Katers added.
Current organizational plans call for the NEB to include two engineer kandaks, or battalions. One will be a national construction kandak, similar to the regional CEKs already being fielded across the country. The other will be a specialty engineer kandak with unique capacities such as bridging, steelwork, and well-drilling.
In addition, the Afghan NEB is to have a robust headquarters capable of managing various projects and contracts across the country – including both military and civilian-sourced construction. This can expand the reach of the NEB by bringing in manpower, equipment, and engineer capacity beyond that which is directly provided by their own kandaks and uniformed military engineers. This is similar to how the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) owes its extensive national reach partially to its many civilian workers and contracted engineers.
Why is forming the Afghan Engineer Brigade such high priority for the coalition? For what it can offer a self-reliant Afghanistan, advisers say.
Drawing historical parallels, leaders at the 555th Eng. Bde. point to the critical contributions of U.S. military engineers in building up America for more than two hundred years: military fortifications since the American Revolution, civil construction and infrastructure projects throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, and also disaster response, recovery, and mitigation.
Perhaps of greatest benefit, U.S. military advisers say, is the Afghan Army engineers’ increasing ability to help develop Afghanistan’s infrastructure, especially its vital national road network.
A key part of the Afghan and coalition strategy is to better connect the government to its people – providing greater security and governmental presence throughout the country.
How can the government build and strengthen that connection with its people, bring governance into previously ungoverned, remote territories, and bring commerce into economically isolated, impoverished areas?
The engineers’ answer: Infrastructure.
The more quickly and smoothly security and commerce can flow into even the most remote parts of the country, the more Afghanistan can become a well governed, economically vibrant nation.
Infrastructure is vital to Afghanistan, advisers note, but even more so when its construction is led by uniformed members of the Afghan National Army, the country’s most trusted public institution.
That’s because civil projects by the Afghan National Army offer two unique advantages: Putting a uniformed Afghan Army face on publicly visible projects, and offering well-armed, self-defending army construction crews that are less vulnerable to insurgent and terrorist interference.
According to a 2012 survey by the Asia Foundation, the main reasons for Afghan optimism are good security and reconstruction/rebuilding. The same study found that the Afghan National Army is the most highly trusted organization among Afghans, with 93% of Afghan respondents saying they have a fair deal or great deal of confidence in the ANA.
Taken together, these findings may suggest the ANA’s National Engineer Brigade could be uniquely positioned to take the lead in building and, in turn, helping secure the nation.
One of the key considerations going forward is how the NEB will synchronize and coordinate its new role with other governmental and non-governmental organizations also involved in construction, infrastructure development, and engineering at the local, regional and national levels.
The Afghan government includes a Ministry of Public Works, for example, currently responsible for much of public construction and related projects.
Outside organizations including the U.N., USAID, and USACE also play supporting roles at this time, though with Afghans taking the lead and international presence drawing down, the onus will be on Afghan institutions to continue taking lead on engineering projects across the country.
Planning between Afghan officials, coalition partners, and others will continue over the coming months, as all parties work to shape a National Engineer Brigade that can best support the Afghan government, military, and populace.
For more information on the U.S. Theater Engineer Brigade mission, please visit www.Facebook.com/JointTaskForceTripleNickel.
| Date Taken: | 04.20.2013 |
| Date Posted: | 04.20.2013 09:41 |
| Story ID: | 105533 |
| Location: | BAGRAM AIR FIELD, AF |
| Hometown: | JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD, WASHINGTON, US |
| Web Views: | 586 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Building Afghanistan: US to support new Afghan National Engineer Brigade, by MAJ Spencer Garrison, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
