Corrections experts, engineers visit Afghan prison construction site

  • Published
  • By Capt. Tony Wickman
  • Kunar Provincial Reconstruction Team Public Affairs
KUNAR PROVINCE, Afghanistan (AFNS) --  Correctional experts and Kunar Provincial Reconstruction Team engineers visited the Kunar Prison construction site to conduct a quality assurance check and address potential security concerns recently in the Kunar Province.

Experts with the Corrections System Support Program, a Department of State contractor working with the Afghan government to build its prison system, and PRT engineers met with the Kunar Prison Afghan National Police deputy commander and the construction site engineer to discuss prison security and site construction.

According to Del Moad, CSSP team leader, the purpose of the visit was to do an assessment on the prison construction and provide feedback to the PRT on potential security flaws.

"We wanted to look at the construction of the new prison and give insight to the PRT commander and engineers," said Mr. Moad, an expert with more than 10 years of experience working in U.S. prisons.

Visiting the site gave Mr. Moad and his team an opportunity to examine for any construction problems that could affect the security of the prison.

"There were a couple of issues we had concerns with that we think need to be addressed in the design of the prison, but overall I think it will meet the needs of the Afghan people with regard to protecting the civilian population," he said.

For Navy Chief Petty Officer David Zahm, a PRT engineer and a native of Las Vegas, the project is progressing, but there are construction shortfalls that need to be addressed.

"Overall, it's a good project with a lot of complexity. This site is a little different than most Afghan construction projects because they have to worry about focusing on keeping people out and keeping people in," Chief Zahm said. "They're moving along pretty well, but have some construction issues to address to make sure it meets standards."

Chief Zahm said the site manager was very receptive to the PRT's inputs and was willing to listen and ask questions on how to better construct the prison.

"When we told him he needs to do things a certain way, he was absolutely willing to listen and comply," Chief Zahm said. "We also told him we want him to work with the Kunar Construction Center because they have a lot of building expertise that will improve the quality of the construction and lessen our need to come to the site."

Security on the site was good and they had not had any recent attacks on the construction site by insurgents, said Jaman Gul, the Kunar Prison ANP deputy commander.

The site visit was coordinated with Task Force Mountain Warrior's rule of law office to enhance the cooperation and understanding between the host nation, the U.S. military and other agencies assisting the development and governance of Afghanistan.

"The purpose of our visit was to coordinate better between the U.S. military and other government and non-government agencies concerned with rule of law," said Army Capt. Craig Scrogham, the Task Force Mountain Warrior rule of law attorney and a native of Richmond Hill, Ga. "As for the prison, I think there are some things they need to work on with regard to blueprints, but this is definitely a step in the right direction."

The prison is scheduled to be completed in mid-2010.