KABUL, Afghanistan Aca,!" The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is doing its part to provide visible signs of life for AfghanistanAca,!a,,cs emerging national and provisional governments.
The Corps is introducing a new design for informational signs that will be posted at hundreds of construction sites around the war-torn country. The new design highlights the Afghan governmentsAca,!a,,c leadership and participation in delivering the infrastructure projects.
Aca,!A"WeAca,!a,,cre going to tie the projects into one of the local Afghan ministries and put a sign up that says Aca,!EoeDone by the Ministry of the InteriorAca,!a,,c or Aca,!EoeMinistry of Defense,Aca,!a,,c or whatever,Aca,!A? said Darrel Johnson, the chief of contracting for the Corps of EngineersAca,!a,,c northern Afghanistan district, which is based in Kabul. Aca,!A"ItAca,!a,,cs sort of like, Aca,!EoeYour tax dollars at work,Aca,!a,,cAca,!A? he said.
The construction billboards are roughly four feet tall and six feet wide, and are intended for Afghan audiences.
The signs are written in Dari or Pashto, which are the official languages in Afghanistan, with English sub-titles. The color scheme features black, red and green, the colors of AfghanistanAca,!a,,cs flag. The redesigned signs omit any reference to the United States or the Corps.
The strategy is to provide visibility and credibility to AfghanAca,!a,,cs national and provincial governments for a populace that is largely tribal and clan oriented, Johnson said.
Aca,!A"If we can give face time to the central government for doing these projects throughout the country, maybe people will start recognizing that they do have a central government that does do good things for them,Aca,!A? he said.
Corps officials consulted with Afghan construction executives to design the signs that are required at most construction projects awarded by the Corps of Engineers starting in fiscal year 2010. Within the next year, the signs are expected to be posted at hundreds of Afghanistan National Army complexes, Afghanistan National Police stations, roads, dams and other construction projects across the country.
Signs at some on-going construction projects will be replaced with the new signs as well. However, signs at construction sites on U.S. and coalition military installations in Afghanistan will retain their traditional look with the CorpsAca,!a,,c red castle logo.
Brig. Gen. John R. McMahon, the former director of engineering for U.S. Forces in Afghanistan, initiated the change in September after seeing a traditional construction sign along the Kabul International Airport Road, said Col. Michael McCormick, commander for the CorpsAca,!a,,c operations in northern Afghanistan.
Aca,!A"He said, Aca,!EoeDo you think it would be better if we werenAca,!a,,ct advertising the Corps'Aca,!a,,cAca,!A? McCormick recalled. Aca,!A"It took us a long time to get the sign down; it took us longer than he would have liked. But that was the genesis of the idea.Aca,!A?
Corps project engineer Steve Stello and Afghanistan national and Corps project manager Toryalai Alami led the redesign effort.
Social Sharing