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CAMP LEATHERNECK, Afghanistan -- Just as the ancient Silk Road connected markets in the Far East to the West encouraging a wealth of trade through Afghanistan, present-day Route Red and 611 open the north and south passages, promising Afghans a new era of commerce. II Marine Expeditionary Force (Forward) Assistant Chief of Staff, (C7) Engineers Col. Kurt A. Kempster sees the roads and bridges he and his team built, or repaired, as a network of opportunities for Afghans to improve their economy, level of education and communication.
“Our number one priority was freedom of movement,” said Kempster. “Bazaar to bazaar, district center to district center, people can start going from point A to point B. That’s how to develop a community, a sense of nationalism and pride in one’s country.”
He believes the progress made during the past year will have an impact well into the future for Afghanistan, countering what he said were certain press reports that initiatives haven’t been as successful or were fragile. He said the Musa Quela wadi crossing is a perfect example.
“It was a great engineering feat,” the colonel said.
The Musa Quela wadi or streambed crossing project engaged resources and personnel from across the spectrum. Designed by a contractor, parts manufactured on Camp Leatherneck, built by Navy Seabees and guarded by the Afghan National Army, the wadi crossing officially opened Dec. 9, 2011, and remains unscathed.
It hasn’t been blown up because the people have taken ownership of it,” Kempster said. “We did it for them. They know it and I think they appreciate it.”
Along with building for the Afghans, the colonel and his team improved coalition forces camps.
“If you look at any camp in Regional Command Southwest and compare it to what you saw a year ago, it’s a dramatic transformation,” said Maj. Gerald DeLira, future operations officer with I MEF (Fwd) engineers, currently stationed at Camp Leatherneck.
Between overseeing projects, Kempster and his team rewrote the engineering annex to the RC(SW) operations order.
“They made it into a very concise, cogent, user-friendly document that somebody, who is not an engineer, could pick up and understand the processes of getting things done in RC[SW],” DeLira said.
Kempster also published an article in the Marine Corps Gazette rebuking a military practice that was a pet peeve he had for a long time, but that made a deeper impression on him at Camp Leatherneck. During his first month in Afghanistan, he and his team attended a ramp ceremony for a fallen Marine. The ramp ceremony honors those who gave their lives and whose bodies are on their way home.
“We honored a Marine who had given the fullest measure and as we were walking away, I heard someone say, ‘I need a couple bodies.’ I thought, ‘Wow, what a contrast.’ That was a significant day out here personally.”
Kempster said the habit of some in uniform to marginalize others, usually lower ranking, as bodies, infuriated him. He said asking for a body instead of a Marine, a sailor, an airman, or a non-commissioned officer, denigrates and diminishes what those in uniform are doing.
“We’ve been at war for 10 years now and everyone knows more than likely he or she will be in combat,” he said. “Everyone who is wearing the uniform is making that sacrifice. Their families are making that sacrifice.”
The back of his business card explains his outlook on life: “Only two things in life you can control, your actions and your attitude. Don’t let someone else’s poor actions, or attitude affect yours.”
He said he refers to that slogan often, keeps his sense of humor and enjoys being a Marine. His family has a history of military service, so serving was inevitable, though it took him awhile to decide to follow his heart.
“I’d heard people say there are too many doctors, too many lawyers, but I’ve never heard anybody say there are too many Marines,” Kempster said. “It’s a sense of pride, a sense of patriotism, everything that being a Marine is about. Those are the things that drew me to the Marine Corps vice another service.”
The colonel is also building technological bridges between himself and his family at home. He posts pictures online to provide a sense of the places he visits for his family.
“I’ve made a really concerted effort to stay in contact with my family,” he said. “I’m a two-dimensional image on the screen. But I’m there virtually and understand how my son’s piano class is going, what his challenges are, the good and the bad.”
Kempster said he will bring home a greater appreciation for the work of the coalition forces in Afghanistan and a belief in the strength of the Afghan people to persevere.
“It’s a very hard country and a very hard people,” he said. “You have to respect them. They’ve been here for thousands of years and they don’t have much. But, like everybody, they want a safe and secure environment in which to raise their families.”
| Date Taken: | 03.25.2012 |
| Date Posted: | 03.25.2012 13:29 |
| Story ID: | 85762 |
| Location: | CAMP LEATHERNECK, AF |
| Web Views: | 417 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
This work, Kempster’s engineers build future for Afghans with roads, bridges, by L.A. Shively, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
