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July 07, 2009
Afghanistan -- May and June
Some of our development projects are in villages without roads. So, when we go check on them, it requires a bit of a hike.
That even means crossing rivers. I *almost* stayed dry. Not surprisingly, this was the first place we went, so I spent the next 8 hours with wet feet. By the time I finally got to change my socks, my feet were a bit pruny.
This road needs lots of work. It's going to be rebuilt as a major road over the next two years.
Hiking along a little trail coming back from a project.
Off to see another site with the guys.
Although it's hard to tell from this image, the building in the back is actually a mosque we refurbished. Although we don't build new mosques, we have rebuilt a number of them. In fact, one of the most requested projects was to repair a major mosque. This is a huge counterinsurgency point for us. The bad guys are not building any new mosques and to repair or build a new mosque flies in the face of the insurgent's claim that the coalition is fighting against Islam. Or, the other argument is that we only build roads to help ourselves. These mosques are unequivocally for Afghans and only for Afghans. Regardless of religious affiliation, support of these devout people's religion, which is such a huge part of their life, is paramount.
Walking through the winter wheat fields.
This little guy came up to each of us and shook our hand. He was very cute.
Walking to another mosque site.
This is a basic health clinic we are building in Kapisa. This clinic will be staffed by Afghan health care providers and provide critical medical care for the region. Since there is no electric grid (yet), the main power is via generator. However, as a backup system for critical equipment and lights, there is a solar array. We have begun focusing on clean and renewable energy sources as a part of all our facility construction.
This is inside the clinic where I am pointing out a few construction deficiencies to the contractor. The quality is mediocre, but we work very hard to increase the capacity of these companies, but still ensure our tax dollars are being spent well and effectively.
This is another road we are building. This asphalt road is the main thoroughfare for the province. Before this construction, on average, 500-600 vehicles traveled on this road each day. One of our measures of effectiveness is to determine if there is any change once we complete the project. We've already seen the travel time cut in half and taxi fares drop 9 times after the first phase of construction finished.
To increase the effectiveness of the government, we're building some of the Kapisa ministries a complex to house their staff and equipment. In this case, we have built this complex for the Kapisa Ministry of Education. It will permit them to function more effectively, train teachers, provide tutoring and more efficiently run their department. As you can see, it's nearing completion and ideally, it will be finished in the next week or two.
I was also fortunate to be able to tour Kapisa via helicopter. It afforded not only magnificent views, but also a chance to inspect our projects from the air.
These mountains are the foothills of the spectacular Hindu Kush range.
An aerial view of a typical Afghan Khana G’lee (Farsi for mud house).
More Afghan natural beauty.
This is down in Kabul province (just south of Kapisa). It's interesting that this landscape is so close to the major city of Kabul.
Here is another perspective of the Naghlu Reservoir that you've seen in earlier posts.
The road in the foreground is one of the roads we are building. It began as a rugged trail barely wide enough for our vehicles and will end early next year as a major asphalt highway.
Another valley in Kapisa.
More winter wheat fields.
You can see why irrigation and water in general is so important to the people of Kapisa.
One of my best friends, Jen, came to visit me at Bagram. She was supposed to deploy to Iraq, but got diverted to Afghanistan. Although her mission isn't as exciting, I was glad to catch up with her for a few days before she went to work on the staff at Kabul.
So, that wraps up the first half of June.
Until the next post...
--Jim
Posted by jim at July 7, 2009 11:35 AM
Comments
Great shots as always, good to see "Capt" Jen too, I remember when she was just a "Gold Bar" General. Keep the great photos and your unique perspective on the world coming...
Posted by: Steve Holman at July 12, 2009 07:03 PM