AFCEC Airman receives Bronze Star

  • Published
  • By Jennifer Schneider
  • AFCEC Public Affairs
JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-LACKLAND, Texas --  An Air Force civil engineer here earned the Bronze Star recently for his role in establishing Afghanistan's first pilot training facility.

Capt. Benjamin Knost, program manager at the Air Force Civil Engineer Center, earned the medal while managing $106 million in projects critical to the support and establishment of the Afghan Air Force Pilot Training Center at Shindand Air Base, Afghanistan.

Col. Scott Hartford, chief of AFCEC's Facility Engineering Directorate, presented the fourth highest combat medal in the United States to Knost for his role as contracting officer representative during his six-month deployment earlier this year. Maj. Gen. Michael E. Williamson, Army deputy commanding general for Combined-Security Transition Command-Afghanistan, recommended Knost for the award.

"He was coordinating with the U.S. and Afghan forces and dealing with mission changes almost daily to push the two projects along," said Lt. Col. Gregory Reich, AFCEC's officer in charge in Afghanistan. "His efforts to get everyone to work together for a quality product in a remote area of Afghanistan are commendable."

The pilot training center represents a milestone for the Afghan Air Force, Knost said.
"All Afghan pilots come here first to train," Knost said. "The facility at Shindand serves as the pilot and aircrew training center for the country."

The complex supports training, as well as maintenance and operations, and included the construction of several facilities such as an aircraft parking ramp, maintenance hangars, fuel storage facilities, an aircraft control tower, an operations building, administrative and office spaces, and a dining facility. The project also included construction of a power plant and water well, in addition to the utility infrastructure necessary to support the facilities.

Construction projects in Afghanistan face a variety of variables that complicate the construction effort, Knost said.

"In addition to the usual construction issues like unforeseen site conditions, design challenges and balancing user requests with contractual requirements, there are security concerns, a lack of skilled labor, continual turn-over of both government and contractor personnel, and constant mission changes which alter construction requirements," Knost said.

During his deployment, Knost also participated in several local civil affairs missions, lending his engineering expertise to assist with damage assessments and local construction projects including water wells and schools.