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[♪upbeat music♪]
[H. Heusinkveld] Toton is a structural engineer
with the US Army Corps of Engineers Afghanistan Engineer District-North
based in Kabul.
The Corps is responsible for the construction of numerous facilities
for the Afghanistan National Security Forces located throughout the northern
and eastern parts of the country.
This Afghanistan National Police facility in Kabul is one such project
that Toton inspects for quality assurance.
When it's completed, it will provide a modern and fortified structure
for the police to maintain security and give the local population who surround it
a sense of security.
[Toton] What we're doing is we're putting up new perimeter walls for protection
as well as guard towers and entry control points
so that the vehicles can be inspected as they come through.
[Heusinkveld] One critical thing that Toton looks for to ensure that a quality facility
is being built is how well it can stand up to an earthquake.
Afghanistan is a hub for seismic activity, and with a background in building structures
in US earthquake-prone areas, he knows exactly what to look for.
We're in one of the highest seismic zones in the world.
We're at the confluence of a few different major faults.
If you look at the actual number of major earthquakes or large earthquakes
just in a year here, it's almost unmatched in the world.
So we have to design to the most current earthquake standards,
seismic design standards.
And really, if we're spending the money here, we have to do it right.
[Heusinkveld] Physical security is critical in Operation Enduring Freedom,
and he's doing his part to make sure that each and every facility that he inspects
meets those tough standards.
[♪upbeat music♪] Hank Heusinkveld, Kabul, Afghanistan.
[♪♪]