Photo By Sgt. 1st Class Aaron Duncan | Col. Allen T. Cassell (left) and Cmd. Sgt. Major Stephen M. Harris case the colors of...... read more read more
CAMP ARIFJAN, Kuwait — The 1st Infantry Division Sustainment Brigade transferred authority for military logistical operations in the Middle East to the 17th Sustainment Brigade during a March 3, 2016, ceremony.
This is the first deployment for the 17SB, an Army National Guard unit based out of Las Vegas, which formed in 2009.
“This is, in my opinion, the most complex and difficult sustainment mission ever tackled by a sustainment brigade,” said Maj. Gen. Paul C. Hurley Jr., commander of the 1st Sustainment Command (Theater). “And I do not say that lightly, because I know the phenomenal work done by other sustainment brigades. But I’m telling you this mission is the most difficult one I have seen in 30 years of service.”
The 17SB is the first National Guard sustainment brigade to assume this mission, and its commander, Col. Vernon L. Scarbrough, pronounced his “Battle Born” Soldiers prepared to assume full responsibility.
“What you’ll find is the 17th is engaged, curious and determined to get it right so that the folks that need what we supply have the right things, at the right time, at the right place, in the right amount. We will make that happen. We are proud to serve. We are ready to fight.”
The mission involves providing supplies and services to United States and coalition forces in seven countries, including providing the Iraqi military equipment through the Iraq Training and Equipment Fund (ITEF).
During its nine-month deployment, the 1IDSB or the “Durable Brigade” improved logistical operations in a number of ways. Hurley praised Col. Allen T. Cassell, 1IDSB commander, and his team for saving millions of dollars on contracts, developing new supply routes and helping Iraqi allies, all while operating in a logistical environment constrained by a troop cap in Iraq.
“They helped build partner capacity in Iraq, taking on the huge task of receiving, bringing to record, warehousing, reconfiguring, transporting and issuing [over $1 billion] worth of ITEF equipment to our Iraqi partners,” said Hurley. “And I cannot over emphasize how tough that is when you’re operating in a very restrictive, minimal logistics footprint.”
Cassell directed the praise to his Soldiers, saying, “They have been durable to one of the toughest missions given to a sustainment brigade. They sustained the forces … providing support to ISF [Iraqi Security Forces], U.S. and joint coalition forces and anyone else who needed it.”
Among its accomplishments, the 1IDSB supplied the Iraqi military with millions of gallons of fuel, tens of thousands of individual weapons, and a multitude of crew-serve weapons and vehicles, noted Hurley.
“Theater distribution was the brigade commander’s number one priority,” said Sgt. 1st Class Major Heggs, the non-commissioned officer in charge of Task Force Durable, the 1IDSB element in Iraq. “When we first got here, it took over 60 days to get items from Kuwait to Iraq. We looked at current procedures, and we worked to get it down to less than 32 days to get an item from the states.”
Those seemingly mundane logistical details had a significant impact on the battlefield. Cassell described how the munitions delivered by the 1IDSB are “used less than 72 hours later to kill Daesh fighters.” Daesh is another name for ISIS.
“The Durables provided the materials that gave our coalition partners the capacity to take the fight to ISIS and begin to roll them back,” said Hurley. “Our battlefield victories started with the sustainment that the 1st Infantry Division Sustainment Brigade provided.”
That’s a fight that will continue under a new command team.
Addressing the 17SB, Hurley gave his vote of confidence, saying, “There is no doubt in my mind that you are up for the challenge."
| Date Taken: | 03.03.2016 |
| Date Posted: | 03.04.2016 10:05 |
| Story ID: | 191099 |
| Location: | CAMP ARIFJAN, KW |
| Web Views: | 271 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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