1/181 Organizes Infrastructure Reconstruction in Kabul

KABUL, AFGHANISTAN

03.22.2011

Story by Spc. Michael Broughey 

1st Battalion, 181st Infantry Regiment

KABUL, Afghanistan – Kabul is a capital city with a sprawling downtown surrounded by low-income, traditionally rural villages with little infrastructure to support a rising population. Ud Khel, a village that borders the walls of Camp Phoenix, is one of those villages in need.

The recent completion of two newly reconstructed drainage sewers in the neighboring village marks another milestone for civil relations between Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1/181 Infantry at Camp Phoenix and the people of Ud Khel, who were hired as laborers by a local Afghan contractor to build the sewers in March.

Capt. Andrew Prewitt, an intelligence officer for Headquarters explained that the entire process all began with soldiers of Headquarters Company identifying the village’s need for improved drainage in two separate spots by patrolling the area and interacting with the locals on a regular basis.

Residents of Ud Khel informed the Soldiers of one ditch that was eroded on both sides, creating a narrow and dangerous path to a mosque on the southern end of the village that flooded in the spring. Said Omar Hotak, a native of Ud Khel and an elected member of the Kabul Provincial Council, a government body equivalent to U.S. state legislature, coordinated the Afghan side of the construction efforts.

Another eroded drainage ditch on the side of another mosque on the northern end of the village was improperly dug and far too flat.

The project for this comparatively smaller drain was coordinated with the help of Ustad Bashir, the respected leader of the Ud Khel Youth Council and past coordinator with the 1/181 for humanitarian aid delivery missions in the neighborhood.

“They ran it from the village area all the way to the main road,” said Spc. Austin Allgood, a rifleman with 3rd Plt., Headquarters Company, who patrolled the area daily with his squad throughout the construction to ensure the safety and security of the resident workers. Once complete, the improved drainage sewers will provide more sanitation to the area, he added.

Once the eroded sewage ditches were identified the trash clogged at the sides of the ditches had to be removed, followed by landscaping, and finally masonry, to place the stones and create the walls of the drainage ditches.

Funding for the projects came directly from the Commander’s Emergency Response Program or CERP. This program gives authority to Lt. Col. Anthony Couture, commander of the 1/181, to approve the release of funds for projects such as these where the health and well-being of local nationals is at risk.

CERP funds are allocated and distributed by Civil Military Operations Officer Capt. Quentin Carmichael, whose job it is to have the project approved by U.S. Forces – Afghanistan, “to ensure the project is nested with the overall reconstruction strategy in Afghanistan,” he said.

Once approved by both the commander and U.S. Forces – Afghanistan, the project is announced and local contractors place a bid of sorts to take the job, based on their company’s background experience, the number of resident workers they will hire for labor, and the cost of the project.

“The relationships built by helping them with their infrastructure helps increase their security and the safety of our patrols as well,” said Carmichael on the two successful projects in an area that has been overlooked in the past, despite its proximity to Camp Phoenix.

• Date Taken: 03.22.2011
• Date Posted: 03.22.2011 02:02
• Story ID: 67509
• Location: KABUL, AF