By Bill Putnam
Regional Support Command – Southwest
FORWARD OPERATING BASE PAYNE, Afghanistan– Engineers from RSC-SW and U.S. Navy Seabees from Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 133 surveyed a potential permanent bridge site and a fording site here this spring.
U.S. Navy Engineer’s Aide 3rd Class Irwin Tan, a surveyor with Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 133, takes notes while surveying the banks and water line of the Helmand River in southern Helmand province, Afghanistan. Tan and EA3 Mark Monton, also a land surveyor, worked with engineers from Regional Support Command-Southwest, NATO Training Mission-Afghanistan, to plot the river’s course and depth for the sites that might be used by the Afghan Border Police in the area. (U.S. Army photo by Bill Putnam/Released)
“The river is a constant barrier to logistical support and reinforcements as the Afghan Border Police push further south,” said U.S. Navy Lt. Cdr. Adam Perrins, an engineer with Regional Support Command-Southwest. “With a reliable river crossing the ABP can count on continued support as they push further south.”
Perrins and U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Dennis Klass worked with U.S. Navy Engineers Aide 3rd Classes Mark Monton and Irwin Tan, surveyors from NMCB 133, to survey both sides of the river. It proved to be a wet day for Perrins, Klass, Monton and a U.S. Marine first lieutenant, but Monton was in the water most of the day sometimes standing in chest deep water holding his survey stake as Tan shot points of the river’s depth, high and low water marks, and current bridge and fording sites used by the Marines and Afghan Border Patrol in the area.
U.S. Navy Engineer’s Aid 3rd Class Mark Monton stands in the Helmand River while holding a survey stake in southern Helmand province, Afghanistan. Monton and EA3 Irwin Tan, also a land surveyor, worked with engineers from Regional Support Command-Southwest, NATO Training Mission-Afghanistan, to plot the river’s course and depth for the sites that might be used by the Afghan Border Police in the area. (U.S. Army photo by Bill Putnam/Released)
The ABP and Marine units typically use a ford to cross the river. It’s an option most of the year but the river typically runs high mid March to mid May. That’s a problem for most of the ABP who use Ford Ranger trucks.
The lack of a reliable crossing can inhibit resupply and movement of ABP units south toward the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, which is roughly 100 kilometers south of the FOB. Not far from Payne, on the south side of the river, is one of three ABP outposts called “South Station.” A crossing will help the ABP in those three stations push south.
“The yearlong river crossing will provide immediate access to the three ABP substations south of the Helmand River,” Perrins said. “These three stations will be the step-off point for further pushes south as the ABP expands their sphere of control.”
The requirement for a bridge or fording site came up in 2012, and after validation this year, RSC-SW was tasked to identify courses of action, said Perrins.
Project administrators say the South Station Ford is moving forward, and they hope to award a bid to a regional contractor this summer.
