Air Force in Afghanistan aims high on low terrain

  • Published
  • By John J. Kruzel
  • American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON (AFNEWS) --  About 240 Airmen are working throughout Afghanistan to help build vital infrastructure as members of provincial reconstruction teams.

Air Force members began leading six of the 24 PRTs in April 2006 as Airmen work to improve Afghanistan's security through reconstruction and economic development.

The international community established interdisciplinary PRTs as "transitional structures" Teams assist local authorities, non-government agencies and United Nations agencies in support of the country's elected government.

Each PRT is made up of about 90 members, including 40 active-duty Airmen and 50 active and Reserve-component Soldiers. Soldiers mainly provide each team's protection while Airmen like Capt. Rockie Wilson, the team leader for the Qalat PRT, manage highway, hospital and government construction projects.

"What a PRT ultimately is there for is to provide the outreach, to provide the legitimacy of the government of Afghanistan, to help facilitate ... the overall governance of their areas and their people," he said.

Captain Wilson said the infrastructure mission in Afghanistan is making progress, though Taliban intimidation presents a significant challenge.

"Airmen are in the fight," Captain Wilson said. "We are part of the war on terrorism right there with our Army, Navy and Marine counterparts. While I was there I was overseeing the construction of about 70 miles of road, a number of bridges and different facility projects pushing out into these areas where the government has had difficulty in the past."

Working from August to December 2006 alongside his Afghan counterpart, known as "Engineer Nassir," Captain Wilson led his PRT as it built an important highway beginning in Qalat, located about 100 miles northwest of Kandahar, and ending in Mizan. This 70-mile transportation artery crossed three Afghan districts and extended the outreach of government-sponsored public works projects, the captain said.

Besides the infrastructure projects he managed while deployed, Captain Wilson also oversaw the construction of a conference center, a hospital and its dormitory, a fire station and the governor's guest house.

For their labor, Afghan construction workers are paid "a couple bucks a day" in cash wages disbursed when workers meet milestones set by the PRT, he said. 

"The construction cost (in Afghanistan) is very low compared to what you'll see here," Captain Wilson said. "To us it was not much, but to them it was a very nice sum of money."

Some higher-wage construction projects require laborers to work in dangerous areas, making workers vulnerable to Taliban assault. While en route to one such building site in Khaki, Taliban fighters ambushed Captain Wilson's convoy and killed an Afghan servicemember.

The Taliban "paid dearly that day," he said.

Afghanistan has an unemployment rate of roughly 40 percent, according to the Central Intelligence Agency's 2005 estimate, and though Afghan laborers can face intimidation from Taliban operatives, construction work in the country is highly coveted.

To meet and mold this prospective labor pool, the Qalat PRT set up a trade school to teach 10- to 15-year-old boys carpentry, welding, concrete mixing and other construction trades, Captain Wilson said.

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