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Civil Engineers build foundation for KAF missions

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Angelique N. Smythe
  • 451st AEW Public Affairs
KANDAHAR AIRFIELD, Afghanistan --       Starting off with only one Airman in January 2009, the size of the 451st Expeditionary Civil Engineer Squadron has since then slowly increased. However, their presence has produced tremendous results within a matter of months here on Kandahar Airfield.
With less than 30 craftsmen on the camp, the 451st ECES is not a typical deployed civil engineer squadron.
     "When most people think of a civil engineer squadron in a deployed location, they think of Prime BEEF (Base Engineer Emergency Force) or lots of folks with lots of capabilities, but that's not how the 451st ECES is built," said Maj. Andrew Muser, 451st ECES commander.
     Since the U.S. Army has the primary responsibility of maintaining all of the U.S. forces' facilities on KAF, the role of the 451st ECES is to adequately maintain, sustain and repair the Air Force facilities.
     "We are a planning and programming cell with minor operations and maintenance capability with the ability to reach back for major construction," said Master Sgt. John Reid, 451st ECES chief of operations. "We don't have the resources to actually do a full blown CE mission."
     The unit plans, programs, designs and executes construction projects for Air Force combat operations at KAF in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.
For larger activities that require a larger civil engineer presence, the unit is able to reach back to teams, such as the Rapid Engineer Deployable Heavy Operational Repair Squadron Engineers, to get the job done.
     Currently, the team, along with RED HORSE Airmen, are working on the Panther Ramp on KAF. Panther Ramp and Golf Ramp have been their two biggest projects thus far.
     "We needed to expand it out, so we brought in 28 Air Force engineers (the Surge Team) from around the AOR (area of responsibility) and teamed them up with a RED HORSE unit," said Sergeant Reid. "They took out approximately 400 cubic yards of top soil, re-sited it, put down rock, formed it, poured concrete, and made brand new ramps."
     The engineers then put out the new shelters. They installed two expeditionary generators, ran high voltage power lines throughout the whole camp, and powered both ramps.
     Increasing the size of these ramps allowed room for all the extra aircraft that were brought onto KAF.
     The majority of the projects, which have been completed since the first 451st ECES Airman landed in January 2009, occurred between the months of April through July.
     The team came in to bed down the wing and all the new mission capabilities that were coming in.
     "We arrived here in April when all this started," said Sergeant Reid. "We were also doing the OSI (Office of Special Investigations) compound, re-doing Camp Samek, the small and large TPS-75 sites, the Interim Supply yard and Camp Davis. Whiskey Ramp was completed in March before we got here. That had to be done first so we could bring all these people onto KAF."
     The unit reached its peak of 108 Airmen when the Bear Team out of Holloman AFB, N.M., deployed here in May to build the heavier facilities, such as the larger aircraft hangars.
     Together, the 451st ECES, the Surge Team, and the Bear Team, built a total of nine sites and more than 60 facilities during the expeditionary build-up, which totalled approximately $90 million worth of build-up within four months.
     "At this point we're in a transition mode," said Major Muser. "We're transitioning from an expeditionary environment by creating a more enduring environment with hardened facilities and taking people out of tents, in terms of living as well as working. We're entering into the planning, programming and design phase right now - planning projects to build up Camp Losano, Camp Samek, and Camp Davis to give us a more enduring presence here."
     Even as the planning for all the build-up goes on, the 451st ECES is also planning to slowly turn over all their projects to contractors in the near future.
     The 451st ECES may only be composed of a few, or approximately 30, hard-working Airmen, but they've done much to build the foundation on KAF.