Photo By Cpl. Triah Pendracki | Col. James Clark (front), the Multi National Force - West assistant chief of staff for...... read more read more
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AL ASAD AIR BASE, Iraq — After several months of long convoys from Al Asad Air Base to Camp Al Taqaddum, Iraq, the Marines stationed aboard Al Asad now have the opportunity to turn in their gear to a convenient location on the base.
Marine Corps Logistics Command (Forward) opened a retrograde lot aboard Al Asad, Dec. 1.
"We were operational before the opening, but the official ribbon cutting for the lot is today," explained Col. James Clark, the Multi National Force - West assistant chief of staff for logistics. "The new MCLC lot is better than the facility at Taqaddum. There's more concrete and large sun shaded areas."
The new lot is significantly smaller than the previous one at Taqaddum, but with less gear to turn in, the space is no longer necessary.
"When we first got out here, there were about 380,000 pieces of gear needing to be retrograded," explained Clark. "Now we're down to about 21,000."
When the MCLC (Fwd) lot aboard Taqaddum was the only turn in point, Marines from Truck Detachment, II Marine Expeditionary Force Headquarters Group (Fwd), spearheaded the operation for gear transportation between the bases.
"[Truck Det.] unselfishly conducted convoys dedicated to the responsible drawdown process," said Clark. "Not only did they take thousands of pieces of gear to [Taqaddum], but they would bring back the empty containers so we could use them at the new MCLC lot here on Al Asad. They really are a great unit of Marines."
With the new lot at Al Asad, the need for Truck Det.'s full support is no longer necessary.
"Essentially, Marines will be able to load up their pickup trucks and bring gear to the lot themselves," said Maj. Josh Anderson, the assistant plans officer for the MNF-W logistics section. "The lot will be open during daylight hours, so Marines will just need to call in advance to set up a time window for gear drop off."
The movement of the lot from Taqaddum to Al Asad is another step in the responsible drawdown process and the removal of Marine Corps gear and personnel from Iraq.
| Date Taken: | 12.03.2009 |
| Date Posted: | 12.03.2009 00:35 |
| Story ID: | 42270 |
| Location: | AL ASAD, IQ |
| Web Views: | 567 |
| Downloads: | 386 |
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