Kajaki Dam

I just had what I expect to be the most amazing experience of my Afghanistan deployment.  I went to visit Kajaki Dam.  I am a Data Manager in the Business Management Office of the Programs and Project Management Division (PPMD).  My job is to take program and project data and analyze it.  I also create databases and other data management tools.  I love what I do but it is very much an “inside the wire” job.  Another branch of PPMD is the Water and Infrastructure (W&I) branch.  They manage civil works projects such as building roads and power generation.  One major project is the Kajaki Dam.  In a contingency environment it is difficult to have all the technical experts in-country so we use “reach-back” to USACE offices back in the US.  Some of those technical experts flew in for a site visit to fill in the gaps that drawings and photos can’t fill.  Needing another set of hands on the trip and knowing that I was interested in getting to see Afghanistan, the Chief of W&I asked me if I wanted to go.  Absolutely!

USACE has a contract security team that usually goes out on site visits with the Program Managers.  However, for this trip our escorts to Kajaki were Marines.  Afghanistan is divided into regional commands.  The regional commands coordinate all regional civil-military activities conducted by the military elements of the Provincial Reconstruction Teams (PRTs) in their area of responsibility, under operational control of International Security Assistance Force (ISAF).  Different countries command the different regions.  The US commands Regional Command Southwest (RC-SW) which is responsible for security in the Helmand and Nimroz provinces in southwestern Afghanistan.  Kajaki Dam is in Helmand Province.  Second Marine Aircraft Wing (Fwd.) accepted responsibility of coalition air combat efforts in the Regional Command Southwest area of operations on March 9.  Because of the funding and political issues associated with this project, it was a perfect opportunity to have the key staff from both the outgoing and incoming units on the site visit as well.

The plan was to leave mid afternoon on Wednesday on the USACE contracted rotary wing (rotary wing = helicopter; fixed wing = plane).  Late morning the Chief of W&I told me to go grab my gear because the rotary wing was not going to be able to get us out because of low visibility so we were going to fly Space A (Space Available is like standby) in two shifts.  Less than an hour later we got the green light to head out to the ramp.  The Dam Project Manager, our Mine Clearance expert, one of the visitors and I suited up and headed out.  The others would take a later flight.  All passengers during air movements must wear the fire retardant ACU or NOMEX flight suit, body armor, Kevlar helmet, ballistic eye protection, hearing protection and fire retardant gloves.  In my pack I had a sleeping bag, a few days worth of underclothes and basic toiletries.

For military movements the motto is “hurry up and wait”.  Once at the airport we waited about two hours before boarding a C-130.  I didn’t take any photos of the C-130 so I borrowed a few off the internet just to show you want it looks like.  The mesh seats were comfortable enough for the short hour long flight to Bastion Air Field despite feeling like a turtle in all my gear.

When we arrived we were met by USACE personnel from the Helmand Area Office.  They drove us back to their small compound where we dropped our gear and cleaned up a bit.  The Chief of W&I and I were the only two females so we shared a room.  The four of us then headed out to Camp Leatherneck (Marine Base) to meet up with the Colonel from RC Southwest.  We arranged to meet back with him at 2100 which gave up time to get dinner.  We headed over to the DFAC at Tombstone which was so nice I asked the mine clearance guy if it was a DFAC or a restaurant.  The red vinyl tablecloths, excellent food and manager asking how our meal was, sure didn’t feel like any of the DFACs at KAF.  After dinner we headed back to the Area Office and I took a quick nap.

We had heard that the second group coming in on the later flight was delayed so we were surprised to see them sitting in the conference room when we retuned at 9pm for our planning meeting.  We had originally planned for 8 hours on the ground but for security reason we were limited to just 5 hours.  We reworked the schedule to ensure our technical experts were able to see the most critical areas of the dam.  I was placed in charge of keeping group two on schedule once we arrived at the dam because, as the project manager lovingly put it, I have no problem yelling at people and will keep them in line.

After a decent night sleep on my cot, we were up and ready to go first thing Thursday morning.  We had another amazing meal at the DFAC for breakfast which we knew would need to sustain us all day.   “Hurry up and wait” once again applied as we stood in the parking lot waiting for the call to head out to the helipad.  It wasn’t until late morning that we got the call.  I’m not sure why we were delayed but I took full advantage of the port-a-potties while we waited as there was no telling what future accommodations awaited.  We also saw an interesting British vehicle while we were waiting.

Again feeling like a turtle in all my gear, we boarded a Marine Sea Stallion to fly us up to the Dam.  It was also a short flight of about an hour.  There were gunners at the front on each side and a gunner at the rear.  The gunner at the rear methodically scanned the ground from side to side the entire flight. 

I was memorized watching the ground out the back of the open helicopter so when chaff and flares fired followed by an evasive maneuver, I jumped.  I knew what it was as soon as I saw what looked like sparklers shooting out behind us.  Pretty, just not something you want to see in a war zone.  Given the calm reaction of the rear gunner, and the fact that allied aircraft crashes in Afghanistan due to enemy fire have been extremely rare because the insurgents lack surface-to-air capacity, I wasn’t terribly concerned.  However, after we landed I did ask the Colonel about it.  His reply that it was an aircraft malfunction made me a little more uneasy.  We’re not sure if they would tell us if we were really being shot at or not; after all, we are just civilians.  Ultimately we realized that we would never know if it was real, a malfunction, practice or a chance to show off (since it was pretty spectacular.)

When we landed at the top of the Dam, a group of Marines were waiting for us with vehicles.  The view was spectacular.  Since a photo is worth a thousand words, I’ll let the photos below do the talking.

These locals were proud to show off their catch.

Afghanistan is laden with an estimated 10 million mines.  We brought our mine clearance expert with us; a former Navy Seal and Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) Technician.  We were only allowed to follow directly behind him whenever we were off the main path.  My group had the geologists who wanted to gather samples from various areas of the dam.  We all literally had our pockets full of rocks.

I already had the utmost respect for Marines but spending the day with them was an experience in itself.  These young men were extremely professional and polite.  I thoroughly enjoyed the conversations.  While we were on top we had to keep on all our gear but once we went down we were able to ground our body armor.  Escorting us on this day was relatively easy compared to this units’ frequent battles outside the wire.  When I asked about his tour one young man replied “Ma’am, I’m not gunna lie.  This tour’s been a rough one.”

Hot and tired but feeling absolutely refreshed, we headed back to the landing zone for our next mode of transportation.  We flew back to Camp Leatherneck on a Marine Osprey.  I want one!

Once back on base we said goodbye to the team from RC-SW.  Still dirty and sweaty, but extremely hungry, we stopped off at the DFAC before heading back to the Area Office to work on the brief for the next day.  Despite being limited on time on the ground, the technical team was able to see everything they needed to see.

The next morning we were back at RC-SW to present the recommendations for moving forward then on to the helipad to pick-up our ride home.  This time the USACE contracted rotary wing was able to pick us up so we flew home on a Russian Mi-8.  What an amazing trip!

I couldn't resist.  Read the sign above the open door.