From March through November 2005 in support of Operation Enduring Freedom-Afghanistan, Major Kevin Lovell served as program and project manager for the counternarcotics and police programs as part of the US Army Corps of Engineers' Afghanistan Engineer District, based in Kabul. In this capacity, he planned, prepared and managed the construction of provincial, highway and border-crossing police stations, support facilities for the US Drug Enforcement Administration and the Afghan National Interdiction Unit, the Afghan Ministry of Justice's judicial/administrative complex and an aviation operations and maintenance facility. In this interview, he also discusses his disappointing working relationship with US Department of Justice personnel, his conversely excellent experiences with the DEA, how the construction effort overall fit in with broader strategic goals, as well as the challenges posed by security of construction sites and their geographic dislocation. Lovell also talks about one particularly "soul-lifting" experience with some Afghan children, stresses the need for more cultural awareness training and earlier planning, and articulates the one overarching piece of advice he'd give US senior leaders. "Our way is not the best way always," he said. "Our way is a great way a lot of times, but our way is not the best way always."

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