Engineer Reflects on Second Deployment to Afghanistan

Defend America News ^ | U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Afghanistan Engineer District

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The city of Kabul sits behind Eric Aubrey as he visits a local job site. Aubrey just completed a second tour in Afghanistan with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.  Photo courtesy Afghanistan Engineer District
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Eric Aubrey
Engineer Reflects on Second Deployment to Afghanistan
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Afghanistan Engineer District KABUL, Afghanistan, June 14, 2006 — The red-headed guy with the calm, quiet demeanor and ready smile who steps off the plane in Moline, Ill., reminds you of a good neighbor or the nice guy next door. He is both. But, what makes him different is that unlike many of his contemporaries, Eric Aubrey can also lay claim to being a veteran of three deployments in the global war on terrorism. He returned home to western Illinois after completing his second tour with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in Afghanistan. His previous deployments included one in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom from May to September 2004.  There he worked as a program manager/project manager at the Gulf Region Division Headquarters located in the Green Zone in Baghdad.  His second as well as his third deployments were in support of Operation Enduring Freedom with the Afghanistan Engineer District headquartered in Kabul. Aubrey compared the Iraq and Afghanistan programs. “I feel the danger level is not quite as high as it was in Iraq but the workload at AED is more challenging,” he said.  “We have to accomplish much more with fewer resources.  It feels like going back in time at least a hundred years when comparing the basic infrastructure of Afghanistan to Iraq. “ AED’s construction projects include road construction and power generation along with building Afghan National Army bases and Afghan National Police stations.  Aubrey has served as a project manager for the Afghan National Army program.  In that capacity he defined project goals and prepared/updated each project’s management plan for completion.  He provided input and operating budget-related information to projects; reviewed and evaluated their status on achieving objectives; recommended adjustments in project cost, budget, manpower requirements and completion dates as each project progressed. Projects that he managed include the Class I Logistics Depot, the Afghan National Army Military Entrance Processing Stations (MEPS), Guard Training Facility/Barracks and Trainer Billets, all located in the greater Kabul area.  He also reviewed project criteria, construction progress, contract modifications and coordinated/negotiated changes for the client. Aubrey said his second deployment to Afghanistan was beneficial in many ways. “I had a much better understanding of the mission, my job, the requirements and expectations thus I was able to be more effective a lot sooner,” he added.  “Also, there were still a lot of people here whom I knew from my first tour and that helped me get comfortable a lot more quickly in my job and surroundings.”     “The workload and the pace are so much greater than anything I’ve ever had in a stateside job,” said Aubrey. “We are in a very confined work/living compound, with very little free time and nowhere to go,” he said. “There is so much work to do with the limited resources, the time available and the ever-present unexpected changes that one has to be extremely flexible, patient and well organized to stay on top of everything. After six months of this intense work environment (80 hours/week) I feel totally drained – mentally, emotionally and physically.”	Aubrey said people are at the top of his list as being the most satisfying aspect of his two deployments to Afghanistan. “I have met good people, civilian and military, from all over the states and the world,” he said.  “I have established a couple of friendships that I feel will last for many years to come.  Also, the local nationals are a good group of hard working people who are trying to make their lives and country a little better. “A very satisfying aspect of the work here is seeing progress made on projects, even in a very short time that will improve the quality of life for Afghans nationwide,” he added. “The Afghans have very few amenities compared to Americans and endure many hardships that most Americans couldn’t even fathom in the states,” said Aubrey. “I think the U.S. Government, and the Corps of Engineers in particular, is doing a very good job on improving the overall infrastructure in Afghanistan and the quality of life for the Afghan people,” he said.  “It will take several more years of construction before the majority of the Afghan population will be able to benefit from all the progress, especially from the road construction that is needed to link many of the isolated towns and villages to the mainstream highways.  I see the benefit of all of the Corps' work helping to increase the overall security of the nation and also helping bring about the stabilization necessary to make Afghanistan a peaceful and productive nation.”   Aubrey has worked for the federal government for 22 years and is proud that eight of them have been with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Rock Island District. “I feel fortunate that my District and my supervisor are very supportive of personnel who are willing to deploy in support of the Corps’ overall mission on the global war on terrorism,” he said.                Aubrey said his favorite interests are photography and traveling. “While deployed on this tour, I found out that I won a first place prize in the 2005 All-Army Photography Contest for a picture I submitted that I took in Afghanistan last August. That was pretty exciting for me – I never expected that. “If I win the lottery, no one will be able to track me for over a year because I would be traveling around the world,” he added. Once he arrives home, Aubrey said he looks forward to “being able to go out to dinner and watch a movie and being able to sleep in on weekends.” Would he deploy again? “If I get rested enough, there is a possibility I have enough energy to do one more deployment this fall,” he said. Eric Aubrey, a typical guy next door?  Not quite.

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