camp bastion ice article

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Delivered by ICEVirtualLibrary.com to: IP: 130.159.248.1 On: Tue, 21 Dec 2010 12:33:00 CIVIL ENGINEERING doi: 10.1680/cien.2008.161.3.114 Keywords logistics; military engineering; planning & scheduling Camp Bastion in Afghanistan was the largest British military construction project in a war zone for over half a century. Starting from a desert site with no access to essential services, the £53 million project was built in just four months by a construction force of 225 officers, soldiers and civilians. It included a 2250-bed camp, field hospital with intensive-care facilities, headquarter complexes, a runway for Hercules aircraft, operating surfaces for a variety of helicopter types and all other infrastructure for a sustainable forward military base. This paper describes the planning, design and construction of the award-winning project, including movement of UK personnel, machinery and material nearly 6000 km overland. Camp Bastion, Afghanistan: haven in the desert of death Robert John Hewson MSc is a major with the Royal Engineers in Cambridge, UK Proceedings of ICE Civil Engineering 161 August 2008 Pages 114–123 Paper 08-00004 Helmand province in south-west Afghanistan was once one of the country’s richest agricultural areas (Fig. 1). It is dom- inated by the Helmand river valley—which provides a geographic and economic back- bone—and the adjacent Dasht-I Margo (‘desert of death’). Though agriculture has declined, the province remains one of Table 1. The initial £53 million, four-month project to build Camp Bastion was divided into four main task areas Task area Details Accommodation and services Accommodation for 2250 in modular segments, increasing flexibility and efficiency. Water supply network drawn from an aquifer 150 m below ground. Waste-water treatment to UK river discharge quality. Fuel storage and power generation. 2000 man ‘super kitchen’ and dining facility. Headquarters complex and joint operations centre. Fixed-wing support Tactical runway comprising n 1700 m runway requiring importation to site of 15 000 m 3 of crushed mountain rock n parking area for two C130 Hercules aircraft n dangerous air cargo pan. Rotary-wing support Two temporary CH47 Chinook helicopter landing sites. 1500 m 3 of rock dust-suppression cones. Permanent joint helicopter force landing site comprising n 450 m short take off and landing runway n four CH47 Chinook helicopter landing site and parking areas n four AH64 Apache helicopter parking areas n two Lynx helicopter forward operating pads n forward arming and refuelling point n under-slung load pad. Miscellaneous areas 50-bed field hospital with independent, duplicated life-support systems. Temporary holding facility. Ammunition supply point—including 4500 m 3 of ballistic protection bunding. Camp security infrastructure works, including n 11 km of security ditching and bunding n entrance security and elevated sangars n 9 km of roads and associated hardstandings.

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Page 1: Camp Bastion ICE Article

Delivered by ICEVirtualLibrary.com to:

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On: Tue, 21 Dec 2010 12:33:00

c i V i L E N G I N E E R I N G

doi: 10.1680/cien.2008.161.3.114

Keywordslogistics; military engineering;

planning & scheduling

camp Bastion in Afghanistan was the largest British military construction project in a war zone for over half a century. starting from a desert site with no access to essential services, the £53 million project was built in just four months by a construction force of 225 officers, soldiers and civilians. it included a 2250-bed camp, field hospital with intensive-care facilities, headquarter complexes, a runway for Hercules aircraft, operating surfaces for a variety of helicopter types and all other infrastructure for a sustainable forward military base. This paper describes the planning, design and construction of the award-winning project, including movement of UK personnel, machinery and material nearly 6000 km overland.

camp Bastion, afghanistan: haven in the desert of death

Robert John HewsonMSc

is a major with the royal engineers in cambridge, UK

Proceedings of ICEcivil engineering 161 August 2008Pages 114–123 Paper 08-00004

Helmand province in south-west Afghanistan was once one of the country’s richest agricultural areas (Fig. 1). It is dom-inated by the Helmand river valley—which

provides a geographic and economic back-bone—and the adjacent Dasht-I Margo (‘desert of death’). Though agriculture has declined, the province remains one of

Table 1. The initial £53 million, four-month project to build Camp Bastion was divided into four main task areas

Task area Detailsaccommodation and services accommodation for 2250 in modular segments, increasing flexibility and efficiency.

Water supply network drawn from an aquifer 150 m below ground.Waste-water treatment to uK river discharge quality.fuel storage and power generation.2000 man ‘super kitchen’ and dining facility.headquarters complex and joint operations centre.

fixed-wing support tactical runway comprisingn 1700 m runway requiring importation to site of 15 000 m3 of crushed mountain rockn parking area for two C130 hercules aircraftn dangerous air cargo pan.

Rotary-wing support two temporary Ch47 Chinook helicopter landing sites.1500 m3 of rock dust-suppression cones.permanent joint helicopter force landing site comprisingn 450 m short take off and landing runwayn four Ch47 Chinook helicopter landing site and parking areasn four ah64 apache helicopter parking areasn two lynx helicopter forward operating padsn forward arming and refuelling pointn under-slung load pad.

miscellaneous areas 50-bed field hospital with independent, duplicated life-support systems.temporary holding facility.ammunition supply point—including 4500 m3 of ballistic protection bunding.Camp security infrastructure works, includingn 11 km of security ditching and bundingn entrance security and elevated sangarsn 9 km of roads and associated hardstandings.

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cAMP BAsTion, AFgHAnisTAn: HAVen in THe deserT oF deATH

Afghanistan’s leading producers of opium poppies and a major centre of the narcot-ics industry. The province also shares an international border with Pakistan and its volatile Baluchistan province

The aim of the British military deploy-ment in Afghanistan is to provide a secure and stable environment to help the Afghan government establish and expand its democratic system follow-ing the end of the Taliban regime in 2001. The UK government announced an expansion of the British mission in January 2006, with troops peaking at 5700 and then reducing once engineer-ing input was completed.

Camp Bastion evolved from the require-ment for a UK base that could support the Afghan National Army in Helmand. A decision was taken to invest in a design which would allow rapid, efficient con-struction and development of more perma-nent structures in slower time. A summary of the facilities provided is shown in Table 1; Table 2 shows key project dates.

The project is approximately 9 km south of highway 1, the main Kandahar to Kabul road, and some 160 km west of Kandahar city. It forms a corner of what is locally known as the relatively safe ‘Helmand triangle’, the other corners of which are Gereshk, 20 km to the east, and the pro-vincial capital of Lashkar Gah, 20 km to the south-east.

project team

British army engineers were responsible for all aspects of design and construction of Camp Bastion. The key members of the project team are shown in Table 3.

Table 2. Key dates in the history of Camp Bastion—the main construction was completed in just four months, from 18 February to 18 June 2006Date Activity01 may 2005 design reconnaissance started01 october 2005 first site survey01 december 2005 Explosive ordnance clearance of site begins 01 January 2006 six containers with vehicles positioned on site26 January 2006 mission announced05 february 2006 local contractor starts groundworks and perimeter works10 february 2006 Initial 17-man Royal Engineers construction team deploy to site18 february 2006 main construction starts10 april 2006 Runway operational—first hercules lands01 may 2006 field hospital operational02 June 2006 helicopter landing sites operational18 June 2006 Camp fully operational01 december 2007 Runway upgraded—first Globemaster lands

Table 3. Camp Bastion project team—commissioning, planning, design and construction was primarily undertaken by Royal Engineers

Project role Organisation

Client uK armed forces, permanent Joint headquarters

Commissioning authority 12 (air support) Engineer Group Royal Engineers

principal design authority 62 Works Group Royal Engineers

specialist designers 516 special team Royal Engineers (Bulk petroleum)

521 special team Royal Engineers (Water development)

529 special team Royal Engineers (air support)

principal contractor 48 field squadron (air support) Royal Engineers

Contractors Central asia development Group

ReCon

RonCo (specialist explosive ordnance clearance)

specialist suppliers Kellogg Brown and Root

hesco Bastion

Farah

Herat Ghowr

Ghazni

Oruzgan

Zabol

Kandahar

Kandahar

AFGHANISTAN

PAKISTAN

IRAN

Helmand

Baluchistan

Nimruz

Lashkar Gah

km0 100

KeyInternational boundaryProvincial boundaryMain road

Helmand River

Helm

and

Rive

r

Helmand

Lashkar Gah

Highway 1

Dasht-I Margo(’desert of death')

Gereshk

km0 40

Afgan NationalArmy camp

Camp Bastion

km0 1

1

2

2

3

3

Kabul and Khyber pass

Fig. 1. Location of Camp Bastion in the Helmand province of Afghanistan—it formed a corner of what is locally known as the relatively safe ‘Helmand triangle’, the other corners being Gereshk and Lashkar Gah.

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Design was undertaken by 62 Works Group Royal Engineers, which planned, designed and programme-managed the construction works. Specialist teams of Royal Engineers designed and resourced key technical elements including bulk petroleum, aviation support and water development. Design reconnaissance was initiated in May 2005 for a construction start in February 2006.

A dedicated team was established to coordinate and provide the significant engineering resources and logistics required for the project. Resources—a large element of which was from the UK—were on the critical path of every aspect of the project.

Construction was undertaken by 48 Field Squadron (Air Support) Royal Engineers, which provided the main ele-ment of the construction force and was supported by a mix of locally employed civilians. The squadron deployed 105 personnel to Afghanistan including a broad mix of tradesmen, plant opera-tors and drivers as well as logistical support personnel such as chefs and vehicle mechanics. Unlike non-air-support units, the squadron also has a basic design capability—the construc-

tion supervision cell is commanded by a garrison engineer (equivalent to a senior design engineer) and includes military clerks of works (equivalent to civilian design technicians), draughtsmen and surveyors.

Given that the military construction contingent was just 105 personnel, a labour supply contract was awarded to Central Asia Development Group (CADG), a groundwork subcontractor, for 120 local civilian workers to augment the military workforce. This provided the fol-lowing benefits and challenges.

n A unique leadership opportunity for junior soldiers, many of whom were at the early stages of their careers.

n A positive impact on the local economy. This in turn provided a positive ‘hearts and minds’ and security and stability impact—a primary consideration.

n The enduring challenge of educating a mixed workforce—including engineers, general labourers and, in one case, a hairdresser—on UK construction working practices, including industry standards and health and safety.

planning, design and logistics

A number of factors affected the loca-tion for Camp Bastion.

n The requirement to be within reach of the engagement area with the enemy, accessible by road and air, and both secure and easily defended.

n Close proximity to the principal Afghan National Army camp, given the requirement for the British force to work alongside the Afghan army.

n Proximity to other UK and Nato force locations, including Kandahar.

n Consideration to minimise the effect of a large military contingent on local populations.

n Availability of natural resources and water in particular.

Working closely with the client to ascertain a statement of sustainability, the engineers developed a design which would allow rapid, efficient construction and development of more permanent struc-tures in the longer term.

UK legislation and health and safety standards had to apply as far as was rea-sonably practicable. Attainment of these

Fig. 2. View of camp from southern end of runway—sand storms, 60°C temperatures and militia were just some of the construction challenges facing the Royal Engineers in the Dasht-I Margo (‘desert of death’)

HeWson

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cAMP BAsTion, AFgHAnisTAn: HAVen in THe deserT oF deATH

standards required education of the local workforce to British practices, and the overturning of cultural and communica-tion barriers. For example, while the local population empty toilets into communal channels, the effluent treatment plants were constructed to ensure that waste water was treated to UK river quality dis-charge standards.

All material and equipment (apart from bulk materials such as aggregate and concrete) had to be procured from the UK to ensure quality control. Scarce local resources and a security state also restrict-ed local procurement. This imposed a significant logistical burden, so efficiency and modularisation were critical—all component items had to fit inside standard 6 m shipping containers.

The design approach set the conditions for success by allowing critical decisions to be taken quickly on site without the need for time-consuming consultations. The key factors in the approach were

n cooperation and trust at all levelsn the designer understood in detail the

client’s intent and construction force’s limitations

n the construction force thoroughly

understood both the client’s and designer’s intent and were empowered to evolve the design on site.

The extremes of weather were a key fac-tor in design and construction planning. Temperatures ranged from sub-zero in early January to 38°C in March to 60°C in June, with potentially significant effects on personnel and machinery. Also, dust and sand storms could reduce visibility to a few metres at times (Fig. 2). This impacted on working conditions, equipment and visibil-ity—including the risk of potential enemy incursions into the camp construction area.

To compensate for the weather, a range of working practices was introduced, including variable working hours and working at night, and increased mainte-nance for vital equipment.

Supporting construction of Camp Bastion was an immense logistical chal-lenge. A total of 1527 containers were shipped from the UK before the design was complete in order to meet the dead-line for operational capability. Arriving in Karachi, Pakistan after six weeks at sea, the containers, as well as all the military vehicles, construction plant and equip-ment, were then hauled north through

Pakistan, over the Khyber pass and south through Afghanistan to Kandahar. In Kandahar all material was cross-loaded—the haulage sub-contractor being unwill-ing to make the final leg of the journey ‘up-country’.

The 5680 km overland journey required consideration of physical and military security, existing road infrastructure capacity (Fig. 3) and potentially adverse weather. Other challenges included establishing a ‘desired order of arrival’ for 1527 containers and their contents as well as personnel, vehicles and construction equipment, and also asset tracking and rig-orous stores accounting at every stage.

Despite the challenges, the convoys arrived in the Afghan desert in the correct order and at the right time to facilitate the construction programme. Inevitably, the tortuous logistical chain caused minor damage to some materials and equipment, which challenged the tradesmen to the limits of their abilities. Determination, innovation, teamwork and flexibility were all critical to success and there were numerous examples—from the chef who fed up to 460 people from a cook-set designed to feed 150, to the former welding instructor who used the

Fig. 3. Roads petered out to hazardous and ill-defined desert trails long before the end of the 5680 km overland supply route from Karachi

Arriving in Karachi, Pakistan, all construction plant and 1527 containers from the UK were hauled north through Pakistan, over the Khyber pass and south through Afganistan to Kandahar— a total distance of 5680 km

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same cook-set to carry out expedient plumbing repairs. Close cooperation and a synchronous design and construct methodology were essential from the outset.

managing security

Camp security posed some significant challenges during construction and subse-quent operation of the camp.

n Explosive ordnance. Explosive ord-nance clearance of the site was carried out under contract in December 2005. Very little was found beyond spent munitions, but this provided reassur-ance that construction work could begin with reduced risk.

n Searching local suppliers and con-struction material on entry to the camp. This was achieved by specially trained dogs working with civilian handlers. Susceptibility to both heat and dust restricted the dogs’ work-ing hours and thus access to the site. Accordingly, the animals were afford-ed the highest priority as regards air-conditioned accommodation and were only usurped once the field hospital began receiving patients. Nothing entered the site unless it had been searched in the first instance by a dog.

n Preventing unauthorised access to the camp. An anti-vehicle ditch and berm enhanced by fencing formed the perimeter of the site. Carefully designed entry and egress points using Hesco Bastion ‘concertainer’ aggregate-filled cellular wall units allowed strict control.

n Vetting and employment of local contractors. The solution in this case was simple; once local contractors had been taken on, they were housed and contained within the secure camp perimeter. This reduced any potential passage of information to external personnel and improved overall security, as any attack on the base which injured local people or threatened their livelihood could potentially weaken support for the anti-government militia.

Building a small town in the desert

Measuring 2 km long by 1 km wide, the scale of the Camp Bastion project is similar to a small town with an interna-tional airport and state-of-the-art medical facilities.

The initial security state was such that 62 Works Group was only able to deploy reconnaissance and teams of surveyors for brief periods between October and

January 2006. On the last of these occa-sions they were able to pre-position six containers in the desert, each containing a Land Rover in readiness for the arrival by air of advance elements of 48 Field Squadron. Meanwhile, a 30-man team of Afghans from local contractor CADG arrived on site on 5 February to com-mence initial ground works.

On 10 February 2006, authority was granted for advance elements of 48 Field Squadron to deploy to site. This initial 17-man team comprised 15 Royal Engineers, a member of the Royal Signals to assist in establishing communica-tions and a member of J Company 42 Commando Royal Marines for additional protection.

Once on site, construction priorities were established as follows.

n Construction of essential accommoda-tion and local security works to pro-vide life support for the construction force and soldiers.

n Security works undertaken by local sub-contractor CADG and military personnel to the perimeter of the site, including establishment of access and egress points.

n Establishment of a temporary helicop-ter landing site for bringing in person-nel and small stores.

n Construction of a field hospital, run-way and first elements of the accom-modation.

n Following completion of the field hos-pital, construction of the main helicop-ter landing site.

n Upon completion of the priority tasks, undertaking other engineering works including ammunition supply point, joint operating cell headquarters, temporary holding facility, ongoing security enhancements and additional accommodation required to facilitate an operational surge in manpower.

The advance party was soon joined by the remainder of the squadron and an impact quickly made on the bare desert. While CADG constructed initial defences in the form of an anti-vehicle ditch, berm and perimeter fence, the squadron began erecting the accommodation. Initially the camp was afforded only basic force protection works which were later

Fig. 4. A foot patrol oversees ground works by local contractors for the state-of-the-art, 50-bed field hospital—one of two incident-response Chinook helicopters over-flies rock-crushing plant in the background

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developed—a cover-from-view wall was constructed from empty containers and an elevated central ‘sangar’ (guard post) constructed on hardened accommodation located in containers.

The first accommodation, called Uttley Lines, was a 250-man camp redesigned to accommodate 320 personnel and was completed in just 12 days. This was home to 48 Field Squadron throughout its time in Afghanistan. Having built its own accommodation, the squadron could then concentrate on elements required for ini-tial operating capability.

The key element of initial operating capability was the delivery of a secure and safe water supply. The role-two-enhanced 50-bed field hospital was quickly identified as the main effort due to the support it would provide for future operations in the Helmand province; the other key requirements for initial operating capability were

n perimeter security worksn aircraft runway and operating surfacesn accommodation comprising 2250 bed

spaces.

the main effort: a field hospital

Despite being located in the middle of the Afghan desert (Fig. 4), the field hos-pital included all the services one would expect to find in a UK hospital, including

n primary health-care facilitiesn state-of-the-art surgical operating

facilitiesn X-ray departmentsn high-dependency-unit wards.

It was by far the most technically challenging construction task at Camp Bastion. In the months prior to construc-tion, invaluable lessons identified from recent experiences in Iraq were being incorporated into the design. While there existed a clear requirement for refine-ment of the design, the constant evolution prevented the determination of an exact statement of requirement at an early stage in the planning process.

The services associated with the hospi-tal, its wards and supporting infrastruc-ture necessitated significant additional engineering works, including

n fuel and water storagen power generation with 100% redun-

dancy with a specified requirement to retain redundancy throughout mainte-nance operations

n incineration facilities for medical and domestic waste

n sewage treatment works and treated effluent soak-away area

n refrigeration capacity for a morguen refrigeration capacity for 17 containers

to store medical supplies.

Externally, the field hospital is based upon standard military tent components, with a central concrete floor spine. The first area of works undertaken in Camp Bastion, this was an invaluable proving ground for the use of locally employed civilians. Their use for routine, repetitive and less-challenging tasks allowed the military tradesmen to concentrate on the more technically demanding areas of the hospital.

Specialist flooring, linings, ‘air-locks’ in the form of physical separation and air-conditioning units were all combined in an effort to ensure the omnipresent sand and heat were kept at bay. Nearing comple-tion, on-site liaison with specialist medical technicians allowed technical queries to be quickly resolved and decisions made instantly on site. The precise positioning of individual medical services, for example around high-dependency-unit bed spaces was resolved instantly, negating potentially significant remedial works.

Upon completion of engineering works and clinical rehearsals, the hospital was declared ‘live’ on 1 May 2006. This was a critical date for the Helmand task force and a precursor to the commencement of forward operations. The forward-basing of the incident response team with two Chinook helicopters at Camp Bastion vast-ly reduced the medical response time.

aircraft facilities

Camp Bastion’s remoteness, the poten-tial for vehicles to be attacked en route and the limited availability of helicopters in rising air temperatures placed significant importance on the construction of a run-way for Hercules aircraft.

The requirement was for a 40 m wide, 1700 m long unbound aggregate runway,

three turning areas, parking for two air-craft and a dangerous air cargo pan. The latter allows dangerous goods to be con-signed while maintaining safe distances from passengers and other critical assets. The excess width and length of the run-way allowed for off-centre and displaced threshold landings in order to increase its design life.

After an appraisal of whole-life costs, the pavement was constructed from a single 100 mm layer of crushed rock (40 mm to dust). Despite a design life of 1000 passes, the runway received over 360 passes in the first month. Selected as the most durable construction in the short term, the pavement still required routine daily maintenance as well as a major overhaul on a weekly basis.

The proposed runway site was over a major wadi, some 3–10 m deep and at its widest over 200 m across. To mitigate the earthworks, 529 Special Team Royal Engineers issued a variation relocating the runway 200 m south, a critical stipulation being the maintenance of the runway’s navigational heading.

Construction involved cut and fill of 83 000 m3 of local material and the import of 15 000 m3 of crushed mountain rock. The latter was required for its mechanical interlocking properties, which the abun-dant surrounding river gravels were unable to provide, and had to be imported from Kandahar some 160 km away.

The sheer volume of rock required by all coalition forces and non-governmental organisations involved in the reconstruc-tion of Afghanistan placed a huge demand upon a very limited and basic supply mechanism. The works programme used the contracted daily delivery rate of 1000 m3 of crushed rock, but it was impractical to impose or enforce penalty clauses. In a country ravaged by war and with an unstable and emerging economy, the only leverage was the potential of future contracts.

The construction water required to achieve optimum moisture content for compaction was drawn from an initial borehole at a depth of 150 m. This provid-ed construction water and an initial source of life-support water. It necessitated some difficult management decisions, as priority initially oscillated between construction water and water for showers and ablutions.

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On 10 April 2006, the runway received its first aircraft with just 1100 m of operat-ing surface complete. Subsequent con-struction productivity was restricted by runway availability, but this increased as the RAF air-traffic control officer gained confidence in the construction force’s abil-ity to vacate the air operating surfaces as aircraft approached (Fig. 5).

HelicoptersAs military operations gained momen-

tum, there was increasing demand for

forward-basing helicopters at Camp Bastion rather than at Kandahar. Meeting the ‘golden hour’ for medical treatment at the field hospital was heavily predicated on using helicopters for casualty evacuation. There would also be a reduced response time for supporting ground troops and increased flying time for target missions. Thus, while not formally part of the origi-nal initial operating capability criteria, the operational requirement for a joint heli-copter force landing site quickly gained impetus.

The helicopter operating surfaces were constructed from established ‘expedient surfaces’ of three types: AM2 aluminium mats, bomb damage repair mats and PSA1 mats. For dust suppression, these were laid on a Terram 2000 geo-fabric membrane and the surrounding area covered in at least 100 mm of 50 mm, single-size stone.

The main helicopter runway was 450 m long by 20 m and constructed using AM2 matting. PSA1 matting was used for taxiways and Apache helicopter parking areas (Fig. 6), while the Chinook helicopter landing sites were constructed from bomb damage repair matting. The Lynx helicopter landing sites used for-ward operating pads traditionally associ-ated with Harrier vertical take off and landing aircraft.

Following initial ground preparation, the surface matting arrived in 67 con-tainers and was laid by hand in 17 days (Fig. 7). Working in pairs, the construc-tion team averaged a laying rate of 6 t per pair of people per day. Working through the night and cooler parts of the day less-ened the risks of heat injury and fatigue. Strict tolerances were enforced to prevent potential damage to the nose-mounted 30 mm Rarden cannons and tail wheels of the Apache helicopters.

The surface matting needed to be pinned down to prevent damage from

Fig. 5. Hercules aircraft started using the unbound aggregate runway as soon as it reached 1100 m in length, adding to the challenge of constructing the remaining 600 m

Fig. 6. Apache helicopters on completed PSA1 matting parking areas—construction tolerances were critical to avoid damage to nose-mounted cannons and tail-wheels

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aircraft downdraft. AM2 surfaces are normally fixed with 1·8 m long aluminium pins designed for the relatively soft soils of northern Europe rather than the dry sand and bedrock typical of Afghanistan. Following site trials, these were changed for anchor plates and 600 mm right-angle steel sections. The PSA1 and bomb dam-age repair mats were pinned using the 600 mm steel pins normally associated with the Harrier forward operating pads.

The helicopter operating surfaces were formally licensed on 2 June. They were then immediately occupied by the Lynx, Chinook and Apache helicopters, which had been gradually arriving during the preceding days.

accommodation

Modular in both design and construc-tion, the accommodation comprised seven temporary deployable camps and two improved tented camps, providing a total of 2250 bed spaces. The use of nine separate camps offered redundancy as well as flexibility and adaptability for potential changes in military occupancy.

Each camp was a self-contained com-plex comprising a fuel farm, generators, water storage and distribution as well as a packaged sewage treatment plant. Though the camps were designed to be wholly

independent with their own catering facili-ties, a single 2000-man kitchen and dining facility was required instead. This offered economy of scale, reducing the number of chefs and associated staff required in thea-tre as well as overall food waste.

Supplied by Kellogg Brown and Root and previously used on operations in Iraq, this was the first time temporary deploy-able accommodation had been erected by the military with limited on-site advice and support from the supplier. They consisted of four 125-bed camps, two 250-bed camps and one 500-bed camp.

Another first was the early incorporation of force-protection measures in the camps. Experience in Iraq had shown that retro-fitting such measures in response to an increase in threat levels was time-consuming, expensive and inefficient. Containers were used to provide blast mitigation as well as kinetic and ballistic protection from indirect and direct fire.

Rapid provision of bed spaces was vital to facilitate the influx of military person-nel. Modularisation allowed the workforce to be gainfully employed at all times while affording the flexibility to ‘surge’ priority task sites as required without any loss in production due to unfamiliarity with work areas or practices. The camps were con-structed concurrently and started as soon

as ground works were completed by the subcontractor. Detail and accuracy during the setting-out stage was fundamental to swift construction as the modular design limited flexibility to ‘make up’ tolerances at later stages.

A comprehensive understanding of the client’s requirements and intent enabled one of the four 125-bed camps to be sacrificed to provide any necessary spare parts for construction. Replacement com-ponent parts were ordered from the UK and careful control of stores and material ensued with only mission-critical parts being reallocated.

The technical challenges associated with creating the ‘super kitchen’ were immense. Kitchen components had to be removed from the seven modular camps and com-bined to produce a single central feeding arrangement while maintaining functional-ity of utilities within the individual camps. There was no provision for separate utili-ties for the super kitchen so power, water supply and so on had to be sourced from within the seven camps. All but the small-est of stores, which could potentially be flown to site, would have to follow the tortuous logistical chain via Karachi, the Khyber pass and Kandahar.

Fuel for the camp generator farms was imported from Kandahar by locally hired road tankers. In order to increase security

Fig. 7. Aluminium AM2 ‘expedient surface’ matting being laid over Terram 2000 geo-fabric for the 450 m long helicopter runway—it was fixed to the ground with 600 mm steel angles and anchor plates

each camp was a self-contained complex comprising a fuel farm, generators, water storage and distribution as well as a packaged sewage treatment plant

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and negate the requirement for Afghan vehicles to enter the site, a central fuel farm incorporating a remote receipt point was provided.

Bottled water was used for drinking and food preparation with the remaining water being supplied from the boreholes. Following completion of the construc-tion borehole located near the runway, a further seven 150 m deep production boreholes and ring main were developed (Fig. 8). During the early stages of con-struction, access to the ablutions for wash-ing and showering was strictly controlled. Key trades such as chefs and medics were

allowed access to the showers and a single washing machine; the remainder were lim-ited to washing bowls. While each camp had an inherent water storage, distribution and treatment system, a logistical chal-lenge lay in delivering or removing this water until such time as the ring main came into effect.

hand over and development

Having achieved both initial and full operating capability, 48 Field Squadron handed over Camp Bastion on time and within its £53 million budget on 18 June

2006 (Fig. 9). In the months that followed the squad-

ron’s departure from Afghanistan, work continued at a significant pace as Royal Engineers from across the corps continued to expand and develop the infrastructure. Water and sewage mains are being com-pleted throughout the camp and designs are underway to install a single generator farm with associated high-voltage distri-bution. Work continues to increase the permanency of the camp infrastructure and enhance the standard of service and thus quality of life afforded to those living there, as well as reducing the associated operations and maintenance burden.

The runway has been signifi-cantly upgraded to accommodate C17 Globemaster aircraft, which have four times the carrying capacity of a Hercules (Fig. 10). 10 Field Squadron was deployed to construct a temporary parallel runway, after which the original unbound aggre-gate runway was upgraded to a 2150 m long, 28 m wide runway made from pave-ment-quality, combed-finish concrete. All associated air-operating surfaces were sim-ilarly upgraded, and the first Globemaster landed in December 2007.

Conclusion

Camp Bastion was one of the Royal Engineers’ most significant construction achievements since the 1950–53 Korean War. The construction of what was effec-tively a small town with a hospital and international airport in just four months by a small team of multi-skilled military engineers was a testament to their corps’ skill, training, leadership and initiative.

The project was awarded the judges’ special award at the British Construction Industry Awards 2007, with the following credit.

‘The most extraordinary feat of logistical, engineering, management and construction in the most inhospitable environment. The determination and commitment shown by the entire construction team included numerous examples of individuals going well beyond the call of duty. Camp Bastion was a construction project like no other and a worthy winner of the judges’ special award.’

Fig. 8. A Chinook helicopter over-flies Afghan subcontractors drilling one of a total of eight, 150 m deep water supply boreholes

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cAMP BAsTion, AFgHAnisTAn: HAVen in THe deserT oF deATH

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Fig. 10. Construction plant arrives in the first Globemaster to land on the upgraded concrete runway at Camp Bastion in December 2007

Fig. 9. An aerial view of Camp Bastion on completion in June 2006, showing the 2 km by 1 km perimeter, the accommodation hub and, in the background, the aircraft operating surfaces and runway