Water is the lifeblood of civilization. Nowhere is this more evident than the arid environment of southern Afghanistan. Villages in this region have managed to survive for centuries with no reliable source of above-ground water. To provide water for drinking, crops and livestock, locals have employed for millennia an ingenious subterranean method called the karez system to funnel water from the mountains. The challenge now facing a U.S. Air Force Facilities Engineer Team (FET) charged with expanding a forward operating base (FOB) in Afghanistan's Zabul Province is how to build a base quickly without destroying this ancient system and, ultimately, relations with the local residents.
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