AFCEE nearing completion of Camp Bastion airfield project

  • Published
  • By Summer Allen
  • Air Force Center for Engineering and the Environment
CAMP BASTION, Afghanistan --  The Air Force Center for Engineering and the Environment is nearing the final stages of construction for one of its largest projects on joint base Camp Bastion, Leatherneck/Tombstone, a main operating base for U.S. Marines and the British.

With over 35 active projects and task orders, the project is a massive undertaking with four construction phases; each phase covering a two- to three-year timeline. All of this work accumulates to an estimated $816 million.

Overall, AFCEE has executed 21 airfield projects increasing the airfield from a 2,300-meter runway with one parking apron to an airfield with a 46-meter wide by 3,500-meter long runway, or 2.1 miles; five ladder taxiways; two parallel taxiways; and 11 additional parking aprons. Additionally, the project included placing over 1.1 million square meters of asphalt and concrete over the past three years," said Maj. James King, project manager.

To give a visual of the size of 1.1 million square meters, you would have to cover approximately 199 football fields with concrete and asphalt, he explained.

Major King said the project's complexity and magnitude required a large number of workers and machinery a daily basis with multiple task orders and periods of performance overlapping each other. All of the work was being carried out while maintaining an active airfield in a joint environment.

"What made this project more manageable was that we have a strong partnership with the British Senior Air Authority. The BSAA controls the airfield from tower operations and coordinating inbound flights to maintaining and repairing the airfield," the major said.

"This relationship was crucial because there were construction crews at 6-12 locations every day with 550 air movements per day," King explained. "It was a hard sell for them because we had to shut down particular areas of the airfield at certain phases of construction; they were focused on their mission and we were focused on ours." A constant scenario, he added, was having more construction equipment on the airfield than aircraft using the airfield.

This task was unique and interesting because there were so many active airfield projects ongoing simultaneously. King said he worked very closely with multinational joint operators and the control tower on a daily basis to balance the construction requirements of building on an active airfield and the operational requirements for safe flying conditions and fighting a war.

"This made for a challenging work environment because we had limited space to work with while maneuvering around aircraft and still meeting construction timelines. The contractor needed and wanted full unhindered access, but aircraft still had to operate from the taxiways, aprons and runway," said King.

AFCEE contractors completed phase one of the four construction phases with the completion of the 11,500-foot runway last year. This was the first Air Force contractor-built runway in more than 50 years. The second part of phase one expanded ramp space and supported aircraft maintenance facilities for rotary wing and fixed wing fighter aircraft for the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force.

"In the second phase, we also added 21 aircraft spots in the unarmed apron and 14 spots for the armed apron at the contingency operation base," said Capt. Joe DiCiolla, contingency MILCON branch chief who managed the project from San Antonio prior to being deployed in February.

The project also includes all connecting taxi lanes, shoulders, aircraft shelters, site improvements, pavement markings, tie-down and grounding, utilities and all other necessary site improvements.

In addition, AFCEE engineers designed and constructed heavy load concrete parking ramps including lighting, marking and taxiways that can accommodate two C-5 and four C-130 aircraft.

Camp Bastion is the main British military base accommodating 21,000 people and is located northwest of Lashkar Gah, the capital of Helmand Province. This is the largest British military camp in the world, serving what is considered by many to be the most dangerous area in the Afghan region.

"The work here is critical to our mission in Afghanistan. Currently, the airfield supports roughly 500 flights per day," said Mike Prazak, chief of AFCEE's Contingency Construction Division. "Collectively, AFCEE is responsible for 27 new airfield projects that all will be completed in a highly constrained timeline."

AFCEE anticipates wrapping up the majority of construction on Camp Bastion this summer.