The Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) released an unclassified letter to the Department of Defense and US Central Command on its investigation into a $2.2 million command and control facility project at Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan, that was never completed. According to the letter from SIGAR John Sopko, the US Army Corps of Engineers awarded the approximately $5 million contract to an Afghan construction firm in June 2012 with a completion target date of July 2013. The facility was supposed to be a two-story C2 facility with administrative space, a secure communications room, and room for information systems, among other requirements. Over a year later, the project was only 42 percent complete with no plumbing, electrical systems, or stairs installed, leading to its cancellation in April 2014. During a SIGAR visit in February 2015, Train Advise Assist Command-South officials said the operations slated for the C2 facility were changed, and other structures were adequate. Though SIGAR concurred with the decision to cancel, it notes that “depending on what the future of DOD’s or the Afghan government’s activities at Kandahar Airfield might be,” DOD may want to consider completing the construction based on requirements, cost, and maintenance needs.
Dozens of former Airmen are running for Congress in the 2026 midterms, with Election Day fast approaching on Nov. 3. But the potential impact of the election for the Air Force and Space Force goes beyond just the number of former service members on Capitol Hill—the results will also decide…