Photo By 1st Sgt. David Bennett | Convoys loaded with equipment sit on Contingency Operating Base Basra, Iraq,...... read more read more
CONTINGENCY OPERATING BASE BASRA — The song "The Amy Goes Rolling Along," remains the same. Nowhere is that premise more evident than in Iraq where major commands, including United States Division-South, are spearheading a massive effort to ship excess equipment out of theater.
An integral piece of the complex operation — the largest since the buildup to World War II — is transporting millions of tons of gear that comprised the U.S. forces' logistical lifeline during the past seven years. Now, as the Sept. 1 deadline for the responsible drawdown of forces looms nearer, long convoys of vehicles, generators, radios and thousands of other pieces of equipment continues to depart Iraq.
Lt. Col. Seth Sherwood, chief of sustainment for 1st Infantry Division, which commands USD-S and its nine provinces in southern Iraq, said the effort over the last few months has been an exercise in preparation, coordination and execution — literally from the ground up.
A main consideration early on, he said, was identifying which combat and supporting units are scheduled to leave this year, and determining the logistical needs of those units coming to replace them. In fact, some will not be replaced. Plans are to reduce U.S. troop levels to 50,000 by the end of August, from about 96,000 currently.
This summer, the military footprint in Iraq will shrink by 20 percent requiring less equipment to support the remaining force.
"The first challenge was identifying what was excess. What did units need to get rid of," Sherwood said. "That took time, a lot of coordination with the units, going back and forth in deciding what equipment they were going to keep for their mission — and what the mission was going to look like Sept. 1."
Earlier this month, Undersecretary of Defense for Logistics Ashton Carter reported that collectively the military has already transported more than 2 million pieces of equipment out of more than 350 operating bases in Iraq.
U.S. forces have distributed more than 30,000 pieces of equipment to Afghanistan since December 2009. The majority of the equipment redistributed is non-rolling stock such as communications equipment, life support items and weapons.
Moving Parts
Almost daily, Sgt. Nicholas Satriano, a transportation operator with the 2nd Heavy Transportation Company based in Fort Irwin, Calif., oversees uploads [equipment picked up at a specific site] and downloads [equipment that is dropped off].
Satriano's unit works mainly with commercial transporters such as the Iraqi Transportation Network — a consortium of Iraqi trucking companies that move cargo across Iraq — that have been a critical part of convoy operations within theater. Comparable, the 2nd HET's area of responsibility includes southern Iraq.
"It's pretty steady for us," Satriano said of the weekly treks to USD-S bases and beyond. "Our longest mission has been seven days and that was going to Al Asad [Air Base, an airfield 100 miles west of Baghdad that once was part of Saddam Hussein's military]."
Once a Sunni insurgent stronghold, Al Asad is just one of several logistical points that the 2nd Transportation Company has supported while in Iraq.
Sherwood said the contractors such as the Iraqi Transportation Network are responsible for moving non-sensitive cargo. Typically, drivers move the cargo to such central points as Contingency Operating Base Adder near the city of An Nasiriyah, where it is first downloaded, then uploaded onto vehicles to be moved via other convoys to final receiving and shipping points, usually in Kuwait.
Sensitive items and equipment, which are critical to U.S. forces' operations, are transported by military vehicles and protected by combat escort teams.
Once in Kuwait, the equipment is processed and its final destination is determined based on the Army's needs. Cargo can be shipped back to a unit's home station, or can be redistributed to a deploying unit heading to Afghanistan. Afghanistan has received approximately 40 percent of that equipment shipped from USD-S thus far, Sherwood said.
Maj. Travis James, officer in charge of logistics for 4th Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division, based at Fort Bliss, Texas, said his job is somewhat easier because the BCT is co-located at COB Adder — central pick-up point in southern Iraq, but it has been work nevertheless.
"Four of our six Task Forces are located on Adder, therefore the majority of our equipment is driven to the turn-in location or transported there using non-tactical vehicles," said James, a native of Shellman, Ga."This process began for 4/1 AD in September 2009. To date, we have turned in over 300 pieces of rolling stock, 500 pieces of non-rolling stock and 600 containers."
Throughout the process, the 1st Inf. Div. has been in daily communication with its supporting units including 4-1 Armored; 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, based at Fort Benning, Ga.; 12th Combat Aviation Brigade, based in Ansbach, Germany.
Some 1,000 vehicles and 2,500 containers — from a total of 4,000 containers — have been shipped from USD-S in the last three months.
Sherwood said the need to do more, as earlier as possible has been a goal from the onset.
"As the drawdown goes on, there will be less and less transportation assets to pick this stuff up and move it out, so we want to get ahead of that," said the San Diego, Calif. native. "Also, we want to get rid of this equipment before the Soldiers go away. And on top of that, we want to get rid of the equipment before it gets really hot."
As a result, the retrograde numbers and tonnage that division logisticians monitor have steadily increased.
"When we first got here in January, we were moving out — total USD-S — 15 to 20 vehicles a month," Sherwood said. "Now, we're moving, on average, 250 vehicles per month. We've moved out a total of 2,500 containers. That's a pretty Herculean effort. It's like going from zero to 60."
Providing Assistance
Army Maj. Joshua LaMotte, deputy chief of sustainment for USD-S, said while containers serve a simple purpose, managing their location and movement can be a complex process.
At the conclusion of Desert Storm, huge stockpiles were sitting in holding areas of Kuwaiti ports that LaMotte described as "mountains of iron." Systems for tracking containers and other equipment in theater have improved over the last 20 years, making the jobs of LaMotte and similar experts much easier.
"To take logistics seriously, to move it, to aid the commander, to clean up what you have brought in is important," said LaMotte, who is from Burnsville, Minn. "Logistics is tough. If it was easy, everyone would be doing it."
To make his job easier, LaMotte's staff relies on electronic tracking tools such as the Integrated Booking System/Container Management Module.
IBS-CMM allows logisticians to track containers on a digital database. Whenever containers are moved, logisticians can add or remove the identification numbers of the containers at an identifiable physical location. This process, LaMotte said, is called in-gating and out-gating. At its best, IBS-CMM can provide real-time tracking of each container's location and its time on the ground.
Mobil Redistribution Property Accountability Teams whose function is to identify and move excess equipment at smaller unit bases. These smaller movement operations save time and money.
"Instead of taking that equipment to Adder, the Mobil RPAT teams can take that property off your hands right then and there," LaMotte said. "That's a great expeditor. We don't have to put more transportation assets on the road unnecessarily."
Sherwood said even smaller supply teams travel to various units to assist in their stockpile of excess of equipment.
"We have taken what we call expeditors, and these are teams that go around and help the units identify the equipment. Because we have been here so long, after seven years, there is a buildup of equipment that no one knows what it really is. They identify it, pack it, put in a container and help ship it out. I think that takes a little bit of the burden off the units."
Among various materials, ammunition is counted as well.
USD-S in March identified that excess ammunition in its area of operation numbered more than 630,000. The goal, LaMotte said, is to get that number down to zero by August 2010. Four ways to get process the excess ammunition: it is shipped to Kuwait, where it is stored; it is transported to Afghanistan; it is demilitarized if deemed unserviceable; or it is sold to the Iraqi army.
While convoys are a force multiplier on the ground, USD-S hopes to use airspace more to accomplish supply missions as ground vehicles are committed to the drawdown.
"Our goal is to increase the use of C-130s to move supplies around to different areas," Sherwood said. "Again as we lose military transportation assets, you want to use those aircraft more."
LaMotte said this is a revolutionary time in Iraq following the country's national elections conducted March 7. In a way, USD-S is leaving its own distinctive mark— albeit one that grows smaller every day.
"It's a proud moment in history," LaMotte said. "This is one of the biggest things we've undertaken. I think back to something one of my football captains said one time that 'success is a journey not a destination.'"
| Date Taken: | 04.05.2010 |
| Date Posted: | 04.17.2010 22:30 |
| Story ID: | 48297 |
| Location: | CONTINGENCY OPERATING BASE BASRA, IQ |
| Web Views: | 352 |
| Downloads: | 291 |
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