<< Back

KABUL , Afghanistan —Army Maj. Scott Cleaveland, from the Joint Forces Headquarters located in Latham , New York has become the state’s first National Guard soldier to deploy overseas to Afghanistan with US Army Corps of Engineers. Cleaveland is currently supporting Operation Enduring Freedom in Kabul and works as program manager and liaison officer between the Corps and the Combined Forces Command- Afghanistan.

“I knew I wanted to do something having been deployed shortly after September 11^th to New York City and later to support Homeland Defense/Security in support of New York City ’s Mass Transit Authority and Bridge and Tunnel Authority,” Cleaveland, a native New Yorker from Oneonta said.  “The 204^th Engineer Combat Battalion (Heavy) was partially mobilized to Iraq and Afghanistan , leaving half of us behind.”

But mobilizing a National Guard soldier to work for a federal agency wasn’t easy. According to Cleaveland, it took nearly four months and several high-ranking officers in the Corps, National Guard Bureau and his state headquarters to get all the paperwork in order.

While some soldiers may find it difficult to work with civilians, particularly in a combat zone like Kabul , Cleaveland says it is just like working back at the Joint Forces Headquarters.

“The National Guard has different contracting procedures [than the Corps], but outside of the terminology, it is easy to pick up the difference,” he said discussing the slight change working for the Corps of Engineers.

Cleaveland, who volunteered for this tour, is responsible for developing infrastructure planning and programming requirements for the Corps main $575 million Afghanistan National Army Program, which is helping to stabilize the country of Afghanistan .

“I think in order for this country to stand on its own they need a military modeled after our military to sustain itself,” he said. “The type of work we are doing promotes that.”

“We are building the Afghanistan National Army’s infrastructure from the ground up,” he said. “We are building barracks, dining facilities, administration buildings, logistical facilities, maintenance facilities, training ranges, power generating plants, water and waste water treatments plants, all the things you would commonly see on our military installations back home, in strategic locations across Afghanistan .”

In the time Cleaveland has been in country he has seen major progress made in terms of construction and rebuilding.

“There is major construction going on here not just on military installations and it is a sign of progress,” he said. “In the limited time since I have been here, there has been tremendous growth in civilian construction across the country.  This is clearly an indicator that the people of Afghanistan are committed to rebuilding their country and lasting peace after over 25 years of war.”

Cleaveland is scheduled to return back to upstate New York in early December.