HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK ---------------------------
http://www.estripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=8142 Brown & Root to begin making improvements to Uzbekistan base By Rick Scavetta, Stars and Stripes European edition, Thursday, May 2, 2002 STRONGHOLD FREEDOM, Uzbekistan — Brown & Root, the civilian contractor known for building elaborate U.S. military base camps, will begin making improvements to this logistical air base — a possible sign the U.S. military plans to stay in southern Uzbekistan. Contract employees will head into Uzbekistan soon, said Lt. Col. Bonnie Hebert, a spokeswoman for the Coalition Forces Land Component Command here. "They’re looking at a follow-on for Afghanistan," she said. Several weeks ago, Brown & Root scouts traveled to Central Asia to check out U.S. bases, including the 10th Mountain Division headquarters at Bagram, Afghanistan. The company is still assessing whether supporting U.S. troops in Bagram and Khandahar is feasible, according to a report from the land component command’s logistics personnel division. Brown & Root officials at the company’s headquarters in Houston were unable to confirm the report Wednesday. For the Uzbekistan base, Brown & Root has signed a one-year contract, with an option to renew for up to five years, the report said. By mid-June, the contractor is expected to take over much of the responsibilities currently handled by the 507th Corps Support Group (Airborne), an Army unit tasked to provide rear area combat service support. Brown & Root will take charge of base camp maintenance, airfield services and fuel supplies. For troops’ welfare, the company will run the dining halls and laundry service, and will oversee the Morale, Welfare and Recreation program. Meanwhile, conditions in Bagram are not likely to improve for troops in the near future because of several logistical hurdles not easily overcome, said Lt. Gen. Paul T. Mikolashek, CFLCC’s top officer. "It’s Spartan, it’s austere," said Mikolashek, describing conditions at Bagram. "That will be the philosophy for a while." Troops use plastic piping stuck in the ground as toilets and still eat tinned rations. Fresh salad and sodas only appear when congressmen or other senior leaders arrive for a visit with the troops. The soldiers themselves, using scrounged wood and supplies, make most of the improvements to living conditions — building flooring and patios around their tents. In Uzbekistan, where living conditions are already significantly better than in Afghanistan, the military can rely on locally contracted workers to support base improvements, Mikolashek said. Around Bagram, hundreds of Afghans are ready to work but few local companies could reliably support a logistical contract. Any contractor would rely almost entirely on the short airstrip, already jammed with military flights for their supplies. When U.S. forces arrived at the former-Soviet air base at Bagram in October, about 600 troops occupied abandoned hangars and propped-up tent cities in Bagram, according to Lt. Col Scott F. "Rock" Donahue, a 10th Mountain Division engineer. By March 6, the camp held about 4,000 soldiers, many of whom left shortly to join infantry fighting the Taliban during Operation Anaconda near Gardez. After Anaconda wrapped up at the end of March, most of the 10th Mountain infantry left for Fort Drum, N.Y., leaving vast tent cities mostly empty. British Marines arrived, but built their own base camp nearby. A new command, made from elements of the 18th Airborne Corps, currently based at Fort Bragg, N.C., is scheduled to take over Bagram in July, sources said. Still, U.S. military officials tow a politically motivated party line, that U.S. troops will be leaving Afghanistan once al-Qaida is entirely routed. "We want to keep a small footprint," said Maj. Brian Hilferty, a base spokesman at Bagram. "There’s no plan to make this a permanent base." __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! Health - your guide to health and wellness http://health.yahoo.com --------------------------- ANTI-NATO INFORMATION LIST ==^================================================================ This email was sent to: archive@jab.org EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?a84x2u.a9617B Or send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^================================================================
