Canadian members of the Kandahar Provincial Reconstruction Team gather in December 2006. DCC provides contract and project management support to DND and the reconstruction team to help rebuild Afghanistan’ s infrastructure. It has advised on projects ranging from the improvement of Afghan National Police facilities to the construction of a paved road in the Panjwaii district to make patrolling safer for Canadian soldiers.
We’ ve been involved with deployed operations for approximately nine years, in Bosnia and Kabul … during that time, we contributed one or two personnel at a time to assist with inspections and quality control. This is a change, however.
DND is committed to Task Force Afghanistan until 2009— maximizing our contribution will help the client ensure that sufficient numbers of military engineers are available to sustain the mission until then.( The combat operation in Kandahar ultimately continued until 2011 and DCC maintained personnel continuously in theatre until the end.)
In 2006, André Sirois— who served 17 years in the CF as a military engineer officer— spent two months at Camp Nathan Smith in Kandahar City as a DCC program support officer, working with the Provincial Reconstruction Team( PRT). Sirois’ project and contract management work included Afghan National Police substations and vehicle checkpoints; advising on electrical power generation and water distribution improvements for Kandahar University; renovation planning for Kandahar’ s technical college; and a paved road in the Panjwaii district that improved safety for military patrols:
It was unique … I think that’ s what attracts a lot of people. This is an opportunity to say‘ this is where I can make a significant contribution …’ There are lots of unknowns and you have to really dig for information. Assessing the site-specific constraints and understanding the roles of the PRT members was an interesting challenge, but we worked together and were able to take action rapidly to assist the military engineers and the PRT commander to achieve their goals.
BREAKING NEW GROUND DEFENCE CONSTRUCTION CANADA
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