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Afghan National Army Volunteer Centers undergo upgrades to security, feel, functionality

November 5, 2012

By Ms. JC Delgadillo

KANDAHAR AIRFIELD, Afghanistan - The journey for courageous citizens who want to join the Afghan National Army begins at recruitment centers located throughout Afghanistan. Thanks to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, several centers recently received upgrades to improve the security, feel and functionality of the centers.

Upgrades, totaling about $586,000, at the National Army Volunteer Centers in Farah, Ghor, Helmand, Herat and Nimroz included improved entry control points, guard towers, fighting positions, restrooms, staff sleeping quarters and even kitchen improvements.

"Joining the Army is a big decision and these facilities are most often the very first place a potential recruit will access to determine if they have what it takes to become a soldier," said USACE Afghanistan Engineer District- South project manager Kevin Pace P.E. "We needed to improve these structures so they could adequately support the Afghan National Army's recruitment activities," said Pace, an electrical engineer who deployed to Kandahar from the USACE South Atlantic Division.

AED- South is scheduled to upgrade another four centers before the end of 2012.

After meeting with recruiters at a NAVC, eligible applicants eventually move on to a facility similar to a Military Entrance Processing Station were experts can determine each applicant's suitability for Army service. Suitable recruits may go on to basic training. According to the NATO International Security Assistance Force, recruitment follows an eight-step vetting process which includes endorsement by local elders, biometric data checking and medical screenings which include drug tests. Specialized counter-infiltration personnel are embedded with Afghan National Security Forces at training schools to monitor the behavior of Afghan service members, according to ISAF.