The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Afghanistan Engineer District (AED) performs a crucial role in the international efforts to establish a secure and stable environment in Afghanistan while promoting reconstruction and infrastructure development. AED’s more than 200 U.S. civilian and military personnel manage programs and projects that support a full spectrum of regional activities for the International Security Assistance Force; Combined Security Transition Command – Afghanistan (CSTC-A) and Regional Command – East, both of which are U.S. commands; U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID); and other organizations operating in Afghanistan.

In support of these activities, AED is committed to doing its part to help build Afghanistan’s national capacity. On any given day, as many as 14,000 Afghans are at work on Corps projects scattered around the country. The number of workers is expected to increase to 20,000 by the summer of 2007 as a result of the AED’s increased workload and the initiatives to place more work with Afghan nationals and firms. The number of Afghan construction firms submitting proposals on AED’s projects has significantly increased. As of December 2006, 70 percent of AED contract awards went to Afghan or Afghan-American firms.

AED’s efforts generally fall into four major program areas:

1) Afghan National Security Forces Program
CSTC-A acts in partnership with the Afghanistan Government and the international community to plan, program and implement reform of the Afghan police and defense sectors to strengthen the rule of law and deter terrorism within the borders. USACE contributes to the Afghanistan Security Forces Program by designing and constructing facilities for the Afghan National Army, Afghan National Police and other defense sectors. Typical facilities consist of barracks, dining, administration, maintenance, utility systems and other associated structures. To date, AED has completed or has under construction facilities that accommodate more than 50,000 Afghan Army soldiers; and AED has completed more than 100 facilities for the police program, while working toward an end state of nearly 700 facilities.

Under this program, USACE provides engineering and technical support to the Department of Defense and its military construction requirements in Afghanistan. These requirements include runways, airfield facilities, ammunition supply points, military housing, operations centers, and associated infrastructure and utility systems.

This program supports the construction of forward operating bases, border control points and observation towers along the borders of Afghanistan and other countries in AED’s area of responsibility. The program also supports other projects such as the National Investigative Unit, Judicial Center and Joint Aviation Facilities in Afghanistan.

Through this program, the AED staff works with CSTC-A, USAID, donor nations and agencies to identify areas where projects have an immediate effect building an alternative economic base, creating ownership and eroding enemy support. Some of these include water management studies, alternative power initiatives, and perhaps the largest, the construction of roads. Construction is complete on more than 884 kilometers of roads with another 1,434 kilometers currently underway.