Photo By Daniel Rangel | A truck dumps dirt into the barriers to fortify security at Forward Operating Base...... read more read more
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By Army Pfc. Daniel M. Rangel
22nd Mobile Public Affairs Detachment
FORWARD OPERATING BASE LONESTAR, Afghanistan – The forward operating bases in Afghanistan don't just magically appear. They're a product of the hard work American service members do on the front lines.
Soldiers with the 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team began day five of construction July 11 at FOB Lonestar near the Pakistan border, according to Army 2nd Lt. Zachariah J. Paul, Headquarters and Headquarters Company, Special Troops Battalion, 173rd ABCT.
"It's going great, the FOB is turning out real well," said Paul who helped lead the construction effort.
The FOB overlooks the foothills of the Tora Bora Mountains where Taliban combatants are known to come through from Pakistan, according to Paul.
Spc. Ricci Angel, an infantryman and Humvee driver for HHC, STB, 173 ABCT, explained part of the logistical challenges of building a FOB in this area.
"We've been making the three-hour trip out here every day," Angel said. "Tomorrow's going to be even longer."
The days get longer when Soldiers must meet one of the biggest challenges in FOB construction—transporting heavy equipment to the front lines. Convoys have been taking out daily supplies to the new FOB from the Jalalabad Provincial Reconstruction Team. But the FOB needs heavy construction equipment such as cranes and dump trucks. The dump trucks are used to fill the wall barriers with soil that will provide additional security.
The convoy also brings with them the staples that keep the construction team fed and hydrated.
With the steady flow of supplies to the area, a more complete FOB and better security for the Tora Bora region is on the way.
| Date Taken: | 07.16.2007 |
| Date Posted: | 07.17.2007 15:15 |
| Story ID: | 11324 |
| Location: | FORWARD OPERATING BASE LONESTAR, AF |
| Web Views: | 419 |
| Downloads: | 103 |
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