bobdina
11-16-2009, 01:37 PM
Engineers build new bridge in Helmand
A Military Operations news article
16 Nov 09
British military engineers have recently built a new bridge on the fringes of Nad e-Ali in Helmand province as part of a long term plan to improve the economic prosperity of the area.
The Grenadier Guards, Royal Engineers and soldiers of 2nd Battalion The Duke of Lancaster's Regiment took just one week to build the bridge which crosses a large section of the Nahr e Bughra canal.
Nad e-Ali's District Governor Habibullah opened the new 'Freedom Bridge' at a ribbon-cutting ceremony. He was joined by the Commanding Officer of the 1st Battalion Grenadier Guards, Lieutenant Colonel Roly Walker, Afghan National Police Second-in-Command, Major Aziz, and National Directorate of Security Commander Wali Mohammed.
The task was completed by 10 Field Squadron, part of the Joint Force Engineer Group, 11 Light Brigade.
Commanding Officer of the Joint Force Engineer Group, Lieutenant Colonel Matt Bazeley, said:
"The construction of this bridge is of huge significance. I hope it will give the people of Nad e-Ali district greater freedom and from this there will be social and economic development.
"We are extremely proud and honoured to have completed this bridge construction for the people of Afghanistan."
Traffic was allowed onto the bridge before it was formally opened to allow locals to travel to a funeral on the west bank of the canal. After the ceremony the bridge was soon busy with tractors, cars and motorbikes.
Click here to see more pictures of the Joint Force Engineer Group building the bridge as well as a new patrol base.
"The bridge offers an alternative route for people to travel freely through the area, and so avoid insurgent-controlled routes where locals are taxed and intimidated. It is just one of the many reconstruction projects happening in the area that have a huge positive impact on everyday life."
Lieutenant Isla De La Haye
Speaking at the site Lt Col Roly Walker said:
"The opening of the bridge proves what ISAF [International Security Assistance Force] can do to support the people, and undermine the case put forward by the insurgents that we are here to destroy the local communities.
"We hope, by constructing this important crossing over the canal, we can offer an alternative route for people to travel freely through the area, and so avoid insurgent-controlled routes where locals are taxed and intimidated.
"We hope it will stimulate economic growth to improve the quality of life for those who will now be living alongside a major through road to the provincial capital.
"The name of the bridge was chosen by the District Governor, and reflects the gratitude he and the elected district officials have for the sacrifice our troops have made for this little part of Afghanistan, and the continuing hard work we are doing with them to rid this land of the scourge of fear and instability."
Lieutenant Isla De La Haye, who was in charge of the project, said:
"The bridge offers an alternative route for people to travel freely through the area, and so avoid insurgent-controlled routes where locals are taxed and intimidated. It is just one of the many reconstruction projects happening in the area that have a huge positive impact on everyday life."
Numerous other tasks are underway under either military or Provincial Reconstruction Team direction to enhance the civilian infrastructure and ultimately improve the quality of life for the people of Afghanistan.
The 'Freedom Bridge' on the Nahr e Bughra canal
The 1st Battalion Grenadier Guards Battle Group took over from the 1st Battalion Welsh Guards in October this year. They are operating in a particularly volatile area known among the soldiers as 'The Wild West', due to the amount of insurgent activity.
Soon after they arrived in the area, the Guards' Battle Group installed a new patrol base north of the district centre near the new Freedom Bridge - a key crossing point.
The new patrol base, which has yet to be named by the Afghan National Army (ANA), houses ANA soldiers and a British Army Operational Mentoring and Liaison Team whose job it is to guide and train the Afghan soldiers.
The base will ensure that the positions from which Taliban insurgents can engage the town are further away from the population centre. It also protects the new bridge which is now being used by local farmers every day.
Lt Col Walker is keen to develop the relationship between ISAF troops, the ANA and the Afghan National Police further. He is working hard to ensure they are seen locally acting as one force rather than three separate ones.
The Grenadier Guards also helped to re-open a school in the area. The school had previously housed the British forward operating base (FOB) known as FOB Argyll and was home to the battle groups operating there. The Guards have however taken over the newly-built FOB Shawqat just down the road which has allowed the school to be rebuilt and re-opened.
Helmand Province Governor, Gulab Mangal, visited the school and cut the ribbon to declare it open, talking to the children and teachers. Governor Mangal was also well received at a shura with local elders to express his commitment to the Food Zone Programme in the region, and he met with ISAF and Afghan National Security Forces to discuss the progress of security in the region.
http://www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/DefenceNews/MilitaryOperations/EngineersBuildNewBridgeInHelmand.htm
A Military Operations news article
16 Nov 09
British military engineers have recently built a new bridge on the fringes of Nad e-Ali in Helmand province as part of a long term plan to improve the economic prosperity of the area.
The Grenadier Guards, Royal Engineers and soldiers of 2nd Battalion The Duke of Lancaster's Regiment took just one week to build the bridge which crosses a large section of the Nahr e Bughra canal.
Nad e-Ali's District Governor Habibullah opened the new 'Freedom Bridge' at a ribbon-cutting ceremony. He was joined by the Commanding Officer of the 1st Battalion Grenadier Guards, Lieutenant Colonel Roly Walker, Afghan National Police Second-in-Command, Major Aziz, and National Directorate of Security Commander Wali Mohammed.
The task was completed by 10 Field Squadron, part of the Joint Force Engineer Group, 11 Light Brigade.
Commanding Officer of the Joint Force Engineer Group, Lieutenant Colonel Matt Bazeley, said:
"The construction of this bridge is of huge significance. I hope it will give the people of Nad e-Ali district greater freedom and from this there will be social and economic development.
"We are extremely proud and honoured to have completed this bridge construction for the people of Afghanistan."
Traffic was allowed onto the bridge before it was formally opened to allow locals to travel to a funeral on the west bank of the canal. After the ceremony the bridge was soon busy with tractors, cars and motorbikes.
Click here to see more pictures of the Joint Force Engineer Group building the bridge as well as a new patrol base.
"The bridge offers an alternative route for people to travel freely through the area, and so avoid insurgent-controlled routes where locals are taxed and intimidated. It is just one of the many reconstruction projects happening in the area that have a huge positive impact on everyday life."
Lieutenant Isla De La Haye
Speaking at the site Lt Col Roly Walker said:
"The opening of the bridge proves what ISAF [International Security Assistance Force] can do to support the people, and undermine the case put forward by the insurgents that we are here to destroy the local communities.
"We hope, by constructing this important crossing over the canal, we can offer an alternative route for people to travel freely through the area, and so avoid insurgent-controlled routes where locals are taxed and intimidated.
"We hope it will stimulate economic growth to improve the quality of life for those who will now be living alongside a major through road to the provincial capital.
"The name of the bridge was chosen by the District Governor, and reflects the gratitude he and the elected district officials have for the sacrifice our troops have made for this little part of Afghanistan, and the continuing hard work we are doing with them to rid this land of the scourge of fear and instability."
Lieutenant Isla De La Haye, who was in charge of the project, said:
"The bridge offers an alternative route for people to travel freely through the area, and so avoid insurgent-controlled routes where locals are taxed and intimidated. It is just one of the many reconstruction projects happening in the area that have a huge positive impact on everyday life."
Numerous other tasks are underway under either military or Provincial Reconstruction Team direction to enhance the civilian infrastructure and ultimately improve the quality of life for the people of Afghanistan.
The 'Freedom Bridge' on the Nahr e Bughra canal
The 1st Battalion Grenadier Guards Battle Group took over from the 1st Battalion Welsh Guards in October this year. They are operating in a particularly volatile area known among the soldiers as 'The Wild West', due to the amount of insurgent activity.
Soon after they arrived in the area, the Guards' Battle Group installed a new patrol base north of the district centre near the new Freedom Bridge - a key crossing point.
The new patrol base, which has yet to be named by the Afghan National Army (ANA), houses ANA soldiers and a British Army Operational Mentoring and Liaison Team whose job it is to guide and train the Afghan soldiers.
The base will ensure that the positions from which Taliban insurgents can engage the town are further away from the population centre. It also protects the new bridge which is now being used by local farmers every day.
Lt Col Walker is keen to develop the relationship between ISAF troops, the ANA and the Afghan National Police further. He is working hard to ensure they are seen locally acting as one force rather than three separate ones.
The Grenadier Guards also helped to re-open a school in the area. The school had previously housed the British forward operating base (FOB) known as FOB Argyll and was home to the battle groups operating there. The Guards have however taken over the newly-built FOB Shawqat just down the road which has allowed the school to be rebuilt and re-opened.
Helmand Province Governor, Gulab Mangal, visited the school and cut the ribbon to declare it open, talking to the children and teachers. Governor Mangal was also well received at a shura with local elders to express his commitment to the Food Zone Programme in the region, and he met with ISAF and Afghan National Security Forces to discuss the progress of security in the region.
http://www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/DefenceNews/MilitaryOperations/EngineersBuildNewBridgeInHelmand.htm