Air Force Col. John Hokaj, Shindand Air Base and 838th Air Expeditionary Advisory Group commander and Air Force Col. Benjamin Wham, Afghanistan Engineer District-South commander, emerge from one of 51 new guard towers surrounding the airbase shortly ...

SHINDAND AIR BASE, Afghanistan -- The Afghanistan Engineer District-South officially turned over a milestone project that is already bolstering the safety and security of Shindand Air Base.

During a symbolic ribbon cutting ceremony March 21, Air Force Col. Benjamin Wham, district commander announced that a $18 million perimeter defense project surrounding the base was ready to be turned over the U.S. Air Force and ultimately, to the Afghan Air Force.

The eight-square mile air base, located about 300 miles north west of Kandahar, consists of a 12.5 kilometers roadway, security fencing, a 12.5 kilometer anti-vehicle trench, 51 guard towers spaced 250 meters apart, 17 electric transformers and electrical system connecting the towers to the installations main power plant. Work on the project began in October 2010, said Mathew Walden, resident engineer and contracting officer for the project.

"When you look at a segment of fence or one guard tower, it does not look like much," he said. "But there are 51 towers and more than 10 kilometers of fence. It was a big project. It took a lot effort, a lot of people and a lot of money."

"Our mission is to turn projects over and it is always a great thing to cut a ribbon on a facility with the quality products that were produced here," Wham told the audience gathered for the ceremony at one of the site