News About (and for) Army Engineers
An instructor for the Heavy Equipment Operator's Course at the Afghan National Army Engineer School in Northern Afghanistan gives hand-and-arm signals to one of his students as he practices digging holes with a Caterpillar 330C Excavator. (Photo by Sgt. 1st Class John Queen)
Dewberry Welcomes Expertise of Neal Wright
Dewberry, a privately-held professional services firm, has named Neal Wright, PE, PMP, F. SAME, F. ASCE, vice president, Department of Defense (DOD) market segment leader, and office principal for the firm’s Virginia Beach, Virginia, office. In his new role, Wright will spearhead an initiative to develop and implement a national strategy for delivering services to the U.S. Department of Defense engineering agencies including the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), Naval Facilities Engineering Command, and other Air Force, Coast Guard, and DOD agencies.
With more than 30 years’ experience, Wright has gained broad leadership experience as a commissioned officer in USACE, chief engineer for a major commercial port, and senior business development executive in two Engineering News-Record Top 50 Firms.
In his last assignment as deputy commander of the Baltimore District of USACE he was responsible for BRAC moves closing to Fort Ritchie, Maryland, and moving functions to Fort Detrick, Maryland. Subsequent to serving as chief engineer of the Virginia Port Authority, he co-authored the ASCE manual Application of GIS Technologies in Port Facilities and Operations Management.
Wright earned a master’s degree in civil engineering from North Carolina State University and a bachelor’s degree in environmental planning from Worcester Polytechnic Institute. He retired from the U.S. Army as a Lieutenant colonel after 22 years of service. Wright is a registered professional engineer in Maryland and Virginia.
He is a member of the Army Engineer Association, American Society of Civil Engineers (Fellow), National Society of Professional Engineers, Project Management Institute, and the Society of American Military Engineers (Fellow), as well as Tau Beta Pi and Chi Epsilon civil engineering honor societies.
Afghanistan Road to ‘Solve All Problems’
Story by 2nd Lt. Jason Smith
PANJSHIR PROVINCE, Afghanistan – An Afghan contractor broke ground, July 19, to connect two areas of the only major road running through the Panjshir province in Afghanistan.
Panjshir Provincial Gov. Keramuddin Keram, Deputy Gov. Abdul Rahman Kabiri, various district governors and members of the Afghan media were among those on hand to witness the ribbon-cutting ceremony at Section 3.5 of the road in the Paryan District.
“If the road progresses, all of our problems will be solved,” said Qabulalah, a local 19-year-old resident, through an interpreter. “If we have someone who needs a hospital, we can get them there quickly. It has many other benefits also.”
During his speech at the ceremony, Keram said, through an interpreter, the extension of the road will benefit all Panjshiris, but especially those who live in Paryan.
“Paryan people have a lot of problems in their lives,” said Keram. “They have no road and no power. This road will solve all of their problems.”
Keram talked about the future of the fledgling project well past its completion. He said it is the responsibility of the people to maintain the road once it’s finished.
“Local people have cooperated with the government, and I hope they will continue to cooperate,” said Keram. “I hope you don’t trash or break the road. I also hope the chief of police and district governor pay attention to the maintenance of the road.”
Paryan District Gov. Ghulam Sakhi said, through an interpreter, that he appreciates all of the work the Provincial Reconstruction Team Panjshir engineers have done to make the project a reality. He said the current dirt trail is dangerous and the district truly needs the road.
Sakhi wasn’t the only district governor looking forward to the completion of the road. Dara District Gov. Malom Sorab said, through an interpreter, that the road will run all the way to Badakhshan Province and eventually into China.
“This is real progress,” said Sorab. “When the Dara section of the road was finished, all of the people greatly benefitted. The prices went down on food and other things because products were readily available. It made travel so easy.”
The Louisiana Army National Guard, 844th Engineer Company, 527th Engineer Battalion finish construction of a land bridge behind a rock wall along thunder bayou on Elmer's Island in Grand Isle on July 14. The construction of the land bridge allowed the transportation of personnel and supplies along the Louisiana coast in support of the Deep Horizon oil spill cleanup efforts. (Photo by Staff Sgt. Jeffrey Barone)
Engineers Reinforce Land Bridge at Thunder Bayou
GRAND ISLE, La. – The Louisiana National Guard’s 527th Engineer Battalion, 225th Engineer Brigade, completes reinforcement work on a land bridge on Elmer’s Island, La., in support of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill coastal protection efforts, July 20.
The Soldiers built up the existing land bridge along Thunder Bayou, a gap west of Grand Isle, La. It’s armored with large rocks, known as rip rap, on each side, which will help stop oil from seeping into the wetlands and gives the soldiers better access for moving equipment.
“The purpose of the bridge was to keep water from overflowing into the protected marsh and as a bridge over the gap,” explained 2nd Lt. Christopher Hardy, project manager. “We raised the elevation of the bridge, and armored the gulf and bay sides with rock, geotextile fabric liner and sand.
Hardy, a Shreveport, La., resident, said that the existing bridge was originally built one foot above high tide. Using roughly 2,400 tons of rock and 1,800 cubic yards of loose sand, the engineers were able to raise the bridge from its previous height.
“We improved the bridge and it now stands at approximately four-feet above high tide level,” he said.
The land bridge was built by laying down rock, then compacting sand on top of the rock. A geotextile fabric, which is used to increase soil stability and provide erosion control was laid and then topped with more rocks and sand.
Hardy said the benefits were already proving themselves for the fragile wildlife that nested in the marshlands.
“The soldiers believe we are protecting the marsh area,” he mentioned. “We took U.S. Wildlife and Fisheries out the other day, and they were thrilled we were improving the (land bridge) structure because of the threat to herons, pelicans and especially terns.”
Afghanistan Road to ‘solve All Problems’
PANJSHIR PROVINCE, Afghanistan – An Afghan contractor broke ground, July 19, to connect two areas of the only major road running through Panjshir province in Afghanistan.
Panjshir Provincial Gov. Keramuddin Keram, Deputy Gov. Abdul Rahman Kabiri, various district governors and members of the Afghan media were among those on hand to witness the ribbon-cutting ceremony at Section 3.5 of the road in the Paryan District.
“If the road progresses, all of our problems will be solved,” said Qabulalah, a local 19-year-old resident, through an interpreter. “If we have someone who needs a hospital, we can get them there quickly. It has many other benefits also.”
During his speech at the ceremony, Keram said, through an interpreter, the extension of the road will benefit all Panjshiris, but especially those who live in Paryan.
“Paryan people have a lot of problems in their lives,” said Keram. “They have no road and no power. This road will solve all of their problems.”
Keram talked about the future of the fledgling project well past its completion. He said it is the responsibility of the people to maintain the road once it’s finished.
“Local people have cooperated with the government, and I hope they will continue to cooperate,” said Keram. “I hope you don’t trash or break the road. I also hope the chief of police and district governor pay attention to the maintenance of the road.”
Paryan District Gov. Ghulam Sakhi said, through an interpreter, that he appreciates all the work the Panjshir Provincial Reconstruction Team engineers have done to make the project a reality. The current dirt trail is dangerous and the district truly needs the road.
Sakhi wasn’t the only district governor looking forward to the completion of the road. Dara District Gov. Malom Sorab said, through an interpreter, that the road will run all the way to Badakhshan province and eventually into China.
“This is real progress,” said Sorab. “When the Dara section of the road was finished, all of the people greatly benefitted. The prices went down on food and other things because products were readily available. It made travel so easy.”
Section 3.5 is approximately 1.6 kilometers and costs roughly $850,000, said U.S. Air Force 1st Lt. Jason Adams, PRT Panjshir civil engineer. He said the contractor has 365 days to finish the two-lane, paved road. Once done, the road will connect Sections 3 and 4, which are both currently under construction.
Adams, a Glendale, Ariz., native, said the construction season in this northern area of the province is from April through November depending on the weather. The sooner the road is done, the better for the people living there, he said.
“It’s important because it improves the quality of life,” said Adams. “It decreases the amount of time it takes to get to hospitals, Kabul and just basic necessities. It opens commerce for an area of Afghanistan that hasn’t had a lot of goods and services available in the past. Most importantly, it connects the Paryan government with the rest of the districts in the province and the central government.”
Following speeches and a traditional Afghan lunch, the governor, deputy governor and Bill Martin, U.S. Department of State and PRT Panjshir director, cut a ceremonial ribbon to open the construction project. All involved said they hope the contractor can finish ahead of the scheduled 365 days.