<![CDATA[<P>The Military Engineer l No. 66273
rive as early as February, and the clock
was ticking. After several reconnais-
sance and planning meetings, the team
decided to focus on expanding three
existing bases: FOB Tombstone II, FOB
Wolverine and FOB Dwyer.
FOB Tombstone II
The 2nd Marine Expeditionary Bri-
gade was identi?ed as the incoming
tenant unit for FOB Tombstone II, which
was later renamed Camp Leatherneck.
The plan was to support an initial ca-
pacity of 7,000 troops and eventual per-
manent population of 15,000. The base
camp expansion premise was military
standard: Create a functional place for
forces that is easily defensible and pro-
vides good observation of the terrain,
concealment against surveillance and
protection from direct and indirect ?re.
To understand the master planning
requirement, the planners ?rst had
to grasp the requirements for life sup-
port, operations and maneuvering, and
logistics. They then took into account
possible changes to scope and the ad-
dition of follow-on units, building ?ex-
ibility into the plan as they went. This
?exibility, they would learn, ultimately
saved the mission.
According to project engineer Shaun
Frost, the keys to proper planning were
brutal honesty and delayed decision
making. We had to practice whats
called expectation management. Even
though we wanted to move quickly, we
would postpone decisions until the ab-
solute latest moment because the out-
come wasnt clear and may have to be
adjusted anyway.
The principal challenge was marrying
all the requirements to a physical loca-
tion. The base was 1,500 acres. Satisfy-
ing the new estimates meant expanding
the base to 3,000 acres. But a legion of
complications quickly hindered the
teams progress.
Finding room to expand was dif?cult.
Directly to the north was Shorbak, an Af-
ghan National Army base. Immediately
south was a British small-arms range.
Because of an upcoming U.K. relief ef-
fort, neither base could be relocated
until months after the Marines were to
arrive. Once nearby property was cho-
sen, a labyrinthine real estate acquisi-
tion process began, requiring lengthy
discussions with the Afghanistan Min-
istry of Defense to ensure minimal dis-
ruption to the local population.
Land aside, construction was an-
other challenge that had to be tackled.
The supply routes through Pakistan
were uncertain at best, and a scarcity of
military engineer units in theater meant
that even if supplies came in, construc-
tion couldnt begin. As if the mission
wasnt already complicated enough, the
Marine Corps made the decision to in-
crease the initial population to 10,000
with a permanent population of 20,000
troops with no adjustment to the proj-
ect timeline.
With all this in mind, the team relied
on the ?exibility they built into the plan
and proceeded to divide the work into
phases. Although it would require some
troops to occupy tents, the team collab-
orated with the U.S. Navys 25th Con-
struction Regiment—the Seabees—to
prioritize construction and keep work
on schedule. With the teams and the
Seabees Can-Do attitude, the expan-
sion of Tombstone was ready to begin.
FOB Wolverine
Concurrently, the team was asked to
identify a main base to support opera-
tions east of Kandahar. The base had to
be designed with a 7,000-ft runway and
space for Stryker and combat aviation
battalions of up to 40 rotary-wing air-
craft.
From the very beginning there were
complications. The initial proposed
site was adjacent to a forward operat-
ing base in a mountainous area, posing
not only a ?ight-path issue, but also a
construction dilemma. The massive
cut-and-?ll required would have been
about 6.5 million-yd3 with just four
months before boots hit the ground.
Time was running thin.
Hurriedly the team searched for an-
By Maj. Landon M. Raby, USA
Master Planning
With roughly 90,000 coalition troops expected in
Afghanistan by years end, base planners were left to
answer a critical question: Where will everyone live?</p>
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