KANDAHAR AIRFIELD, Afghanistan --
The average Air Force Civil Engineer Squadron is comprised
of more than 100 Airmen specializing in disciplines ranging from electrical to
structural engineering. This diversity of skill and strength of numbers enables
them to complete projects and conduct find and fix operations in situations
when minutes can make the difference between mission success and failure.
The importance of the CE mission is vital at Kandahar
Airfield, Afghanistan, and with the eyes of the world following the development
of the region; the execution of KAF’s engineering operation rests squarely on
the shoulders of only two Airmen.
“The workload here is comparable to any other civil engineer
unit,” said 1st Lt. Tim Lord, 451st Expeditionary Support Squadron Civil
Engineer flight commander, deployed from Altus Air Force Base, Oklahoma. “There
are three large CE functions here: facility management, project management and
operations.”
With approximately 100 facilities under their jurisdiction,
Lord and his enlisted counterpart, Staff Sgt. Gabriel Lara-Ortega, 451 ESSCE Flight
NCOIC in charge, deployed from Beale Air Force Base, California, are
responsible for ensuring facilities are in good working order.
“Every facility has a designated manager,” said Lara-Ortega.
“We have to conduct training, coordinate with them, make sure they know what’s
covered by that building’s contract and what kinds of things contractors are
authorized to do. We meet with contractors weekly and coordinate with the NATO
Support Agency, or NSPA, which is the entity that works the contractor side of
the house. So we facilitate communication between all these moving parts to
ensure things get taken care of.”
Independent of facility management, project management comes
with its own unique requirements and work-arounds. Lord and Lara-Ortega oversee dozens of
projects simultaneously, all of which must be held to the highest standard and
executed to the letter of the contract.
“Currently we have 37 projects on the books totaling about $2
million,” Lord said. “We manage those projects day in and day out. Even though
we’re a small shop we still have to provide the same capabilities we do back
home. The key difference here is we coordinate with a lot of contractors and
outside agencies to get the work done; it requires a level of flexibility and
synchronization we’ve not previously dealt with.”
The final piece of the KAF’s CE triad, Lord and Lara-Ortega
ensure the operations aspect remains effective through contract interpretation,
a streamlined communication system, and putting out proverbial fires when unchartered
territory calls for improvisation.
“We don’t have a customer service desk like you would
normally encounter in a CE shop,” Lord said. “The customers, through the
facility manager program run by Staff Sgt. Lara-Ortega, will go directly to the
contractors to handle their issues. We come into the equation when the
contractor doesn’t fulfil their duties or there’s confusion about what those
duties are.”
When these unorthodox situations arise, Lara-Ortega
intervenes.
“I clarify the confusion and work with the two parties,” he
said. “If the issue is not covered under the original contract, we’re
responsible for determining the best way forward. If there is a facility that
needs work but is not on a contractor’s maintenance list, or a project on base
that is not covered by a contract, it comes to us to either execute in-house or
we have to write a contract for it.”
Having been operating as a two-man shop for more than four
months, both Lord and Lara-Ortega have come to appreciate the organized chaos
that comes with managing CE functions at a fast paced deployed location. When
the Air Force assumed the role of senior airfield authority, the pair developed
an even deeper appreciation for inter-agency coordination and efficient problem
solving.
“Taking over as senior airfield authority was a big
challenge,” Lord said. “Figuring out how to fund new projects on the airfield
was a long endeavor which required us to reach out to stateside agencies.
Projects on the airfield range from fixing Bird Air Strike Hazards all the way
to changing parking plans, and in the four months we’ve been here we’ve worked
through 181 work orders that fall under our airfield authority contract.”
In addition to those work orders, KAF’s dynamic CE duo have
maintained 150 facilities throughout 14 different camps on base, completed 72
projects valued at nearly $10 million and completed the disposition of 196
obsolete items. In spite of their intense work load, Lord and Lara-Ortega still
manage to maintain a healthy sense of humor.
“The only predictable thing in our day is that we’ll wake
up, eat breakfast and come to work,” Lara-Ortega said. “After that, all bets
are off.”
Laughing, Lord agreed with his wingman.
“It’s definitely a challenge, so it’s a good thing I enjoy a
good challenge every now and again,” he said. “We perform a support function so
it’s nice knowing that because of us people can have good crew rest, have
working plumbing and proper Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning. We make
a difference and that’s a good feeling.”