Long before the first U.S. soldiers hit the ground in Afghanistan, military construction specialists began studying, analyzing, calculating and planning for the support the troops would need. Military engineers are using the information technology tools of the 21st Century—geospatial data mining, digital collaboration, remote sensing and imaging and satellite communications—together with intelligence in the classic traditions of the cold war to take on an enemy whose tactics range from driving bomb-laden camels toward their foes to crashing hijacked airliners into the towers of lower Manhattan.
It is a story that may never be fully told, but from a series of interviews with military and construction officials, it is possible to sketch how the work is being done. A good starting point is the night of Oct. 19, 2001, 39 days after Sept. 11, as the first assaults by U.S. ground troops in Afghanistan started to unfold.