$7.3M US-Built Afghan Police Camp Sits Nearly Empty

A $7.3 million, 12-building compound built by the US Army Corps of Engineers for the Afghan Border Police resembled a ghost town just two months after it was handed over to Afghan authorities, Reuters reports. Inspectors found just 12 personnel at the Kunduz province base camp, which had been built for 175 officers. Most of the buildings appeared unused and equipment like wood-burning stoves had already been dismantled.

The investigators had to peer through windows of most of the buildings because the personnel on site only had keys to three of them, ABC reports. The inspectors recommended that the US Army take another look at plans for building other border police facilities to ensure they are appropriately sized. Their report noted that sustaining the Kunduz facility would require people with the skills to maintain electrical generators, fueling stations, and water treatment systems, but there are no plans in place to train anybody. (More Afghanistan stories.)