AFP– In the forbidding Afghan desert, US engineers are carving out a sprawling military camp as part of a dramatic American troop build-up designed to confront Taliban insurgents.

The desolate plain in southern Helmand province that Afghans call the “desert of death” has turned into a hive of frenetic activity, underscoring President Barack Obama’s decision to expand the US military commitment to the war.

Defence Secretary Robert Gates flew into Camp Leatherneck on Thursday to get a first-hand look as dozens of bulldozers kicked up clouds of dust and soldiers swung hammers in searing heat. Some of the newly arrived soldiers at the camp told Gates they were still waiting for radios and other equipment to arrive.

Gates promised to look into the problem and said later at a news conference in Kabul that moving such a large number of troops and so much equipment was a “logistical challenge” in a country with a shortage of airports and major roads.

Every day military planes ferry in more marines and soldiers to the camp that has emerged out of the desert seemingly overnight, protected by miles of sand walls topped with barbed wire along with rows of barrier walls.

“It’s been real busy,” said Captain Jeff Boroway from the 25th Naval Construction regiment.

“This place was desert at the end of January. I mean nothing. And now you’ve got a 443-acre (179-hectare) secure facility,” he told reporters.

Boroway said engineering units were rushing to finish work on the camp to accommodate the deployment of thousands of additional troops, including most of an 8,000-strong brigade of US Marines.

Continue reading about the Giant US Military Base Emerging in Afghanistan.

Photo by the US Army flickr

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