Yesterday, March 2, 2010, I led a trip with some NTM-A leadership to gain an on-site view of construction progress for the National Police Training Center currently under construction in the Maydan Shahr district of Maydan Wardak province. This is a national strategic asset, which will provide capacity for training and life support for 1,000 student policemen and 250 police trainers in September 2010, and a 100% increase in capacity for students and trainers in June 2011. 
Facility features include 3 shooting ranges, a driving course, 23 classrooms, a medical clinic, and all required utility systems. This is a US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), Afghanistan Engineer District (AED) project. Besides increasing the ability to train Afghan police, the construction contractor has employed several hundred local villagers as laborers, while concurrently providing training in skilled construction trades.
This creates jobs and skills that will continue to help the country. In addition, all aggregates are locally mined and purchased, creating further employment for district residents. Overall, the trip provided senior leadership a good perspective on the facility’s progress and its current and future effect on the local community.
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