Post from Afghanistan

Expeditionary Workforce

 

                                                                                                      November 27, 2008

 

To all my friends in Tulsa,

 

Hope everyone is doing well.  We had a great Thanksgiving dinner.  They did a great job with everything.  You would not believe it!  The only thing missing was home and family.  Tell everyone hi!

 

The Afghanistan Engineer District conducts project management, construction, and engineering in the Central Asian Republics to facilitate the establishment of a secure and stable environment while promoting reconstruction and infrastructure development.  Last year AED managed $1.8 billion in construction and engineering projects in Central Asia and expects to manage about $2.5 billion during fiscal year 2009.

 

I am a Resident Engineer at Bagram Air Field, the largest Coalition installation in Afghanistan, which is located about 20 kilometers north of the nation’s capitol in Kabul.  At Bagram, the Corps of Engineers is currently managing more than $100 million in projects that support Coalition Forces power projection throughout the region.  The work at Bagram is also expected to grow during fiscal year 2009 to about $300 million.  In addition to flight line improvements and a new fuel storage facility, AED is also building new barracks, dining facilities, and making upgrades to the water, sewer, and power systems that support the military personnel at the base.

 

The work here is very fast paced, and I have really enjoyed working with and mentoring the Afghan construction workers.  I miss everyone from Tulsa, and encourage you to volunteer for a deployment in either Iraq or Afghanistan.

 

                                Dan McPherson

 

Dan McPherson, in green, and Jamal Fakhouri at pavement construction, Bagram Air Field.

Dan McPherson, left, and Lt. Col. Kaehler in front of concrete placement at Bagram Air Field.

A fuel tank and pump house under construction at Bagram Air Field.

Afghan construction workers prepare for concrete placements of an underground fuel storage tank at Bagram Air Field.

A Concrete Masonry Unit barracks under construction at Bagram Air Field.