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FORWARD OPERATING BASE SHARANA, Afghanistan (March 27, 2008) -
In January 2008, Task Force Pacemaker's engineers conducted
construction workshops throughout eastern Afghanistan to promote
positive relationships with Afghans, while providing them with
skills critical to rebuilding their nation and economy.
January marked the beginning of four separate construction
workshops that the units of TF Pacemaker conducted in Afghanistan
for local Afghan men between the ages of 18 and 60. TF Pacemaker is
comprised of three Combat Heavy Engineer (construction) line
companies, the headquarters and support company from 864th Engineer
Combat Battalion (Heavy), out of Fort Lewis, Wash., and the 76th
Engineer Vertical Detachment Company out of Fort Knox, Ky.
The workshop was held at four remote forward operating bases,
FOB Fenty, Kushamond, Orgun-E and Sharana, and trained 200
unskilled laborers in basic wood, concrete, and masonry
construction techniques.
Each local Afghan student received approximately $1,200 worth of
construction tools funded by the Commander's Emergency Relief
Program. The tools included saws, hammers, and other items
instrumental to construction work.
According to the CIA World Fact Book, approximately 40 percent
of the 25 million Afghan citizens are unemployed. This percentage
has steadily increased over the last several years as Afghan
refugees, who fled to Pakistan and Iran, have started to
return.
"With high unemployment, a lack of arable land and an economy
based mostly on subsistence farming, returnees have few chances,"
stated a recent Investor Relations Information Network report from
the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian
Affairs.
Army 1st Lt. Grayson Pranin, TF Pacemaker civil military
officer, used a demographic survey that determined approximately 80
percent of the workshop students were consistently unemployed and
generally unskilled in construction or other trades.
Over the 10-day courses, Soldiers provided training that allowed
students to successfully build 8'x4'x20' storage sheds complete
with windows, door frames and rafter rooftops.
The instructors used a standard list of training objectives and
general information, but in each workshop the instructors applied
their own unique methods for demonstrating construction techniques
in a manner easily understood by Afghan students.
For example, mimicking a demonstration he had seen in his
advanced individual training course, Sgt. Kyle Drube showed
students the necessity of using rebar to reinforce concrete pads.
Several days before his class, he poured a circular mold of
concrete with an approximate diameter of 10 inches and two inches
thick. In front of the students he took the hardened concrete and
broke it over his knee. Drube then showed the students how a
similar sized piece of concrete with rebar emplaced did not break
under the same force.
The junior Soldiers seemed to enjoy the challenge of researching
and rehearsing for their classes and the unique leadership
opportunity they had with their teams as instructors.
Generally, two Soldiers were paired with each team to provide
hands-on guidance and oversight. Five interpreters worked with each
group of 50 students, allowing them to break down into teams as
small as 10 students.
When the Afghan students graduated the workshop, they were
provided with certificates and reference cards that acknowledged
their successful completion of their training. These cards assist
local contractors and Coalition forces in determining who to hire
for major projects either on FOBs or in local communities.
These workshops have allowed men, who originally started out as
unskilled laborers, to progress to the point that they are now
contractors with other construction laborers working for them. Not
even two weeks after the completion of the workshop at FOB Sharana,
the top 20 students in the class were hired to assist in building
two CJTF-82 construction projects on FOB Sharana.
Army Maj. Kenneth Frey, TF Pacemaker operations officer, has
been working on proposals for engineers to deploy in teams with a
primary mission of instructing and managing construction projects
with Afghans.
"After almost fifteen months of being in this country, it feels
good to give something back," Drube said.
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