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PRO/con/MIL / REMOTE LOCATIONS IN IRAQ AND AFGHANISTAN



CLIENT: U.S. Army Transportation Command

PROGRAM: Secure remote temporary modular housing

SIZE: Varies

COST: $100,000/module

COMPLETION: September 2003

NOTES: The PRO/con system is adapted here to the specialized needs of the U.S. military–in particular the housing of civilian contractors (engineers) in remote, inhospitable sites. The container at the heart of the PRO/con system is built to withstand tremendous abuse, but was never intended to face the sort of environment it might face in service in Afghanistan or Iraq. The modified PRO/con system addresses this problem in several ways. An additional layer of thin plate steel is added on the inside face of the insulation, for example, which acts together with the container’s own walls like spaced armor, to dissipate the energy of projectiles between the two layers. The panels that clad the larger workspaces (between the containers) are similarly constructed as a steel/foam sandwich. Additionally, all exterior windows are eliminated and exterior doors are equipped with armored vestibules. Escape hatches are located in the floor of each PRO/con unit. Grenade skirts protect the crawl space beneath the structure (to which the escape hatches lead) when the structure is set on its leveling jacks. A parasol/sunshade structure doubling as a grenade screen is provided over the whole installation. Steps taken to compensate for the lack of exterior vision/view, in the interests of the quality-of-life of the (civilian) occupants, might include bullet-proof vision slits or virtual periscope-type windows using offset mirrors and fiber-optic “skylights.”